Super-bright and yet consuming very little energy, LEDs (light-emitting diodes) are one of the greenest ways to provide illumination. That’s why they’re chosen for nearly any eco-friendly light installation, often powered by solar panels or another source of renewable energy. These 12 amazingly creative and artistic LED light displays really show off the capabilities of LED lights, from a 92-foot-high LED cathedral in Belgium to a river full of floating LED spheres in Tokyo.
Energy Field Expo 2012
(images via: atelier brueckner)
10,000 LEDs illuminated 380 59-foot-tall blades of ‘rice plants’ for a stunning installation at Expo 2012 in Yeosu, South Korea. Meant to mimic an overgrown field of rice, the installation was created to celebrate a Korean oil company’s transition to clean energy. Not only do the blades, made of artificial bamboo, sway in the wind like real plants – they also react to their surroundings. Activated by touch, the plants send out waves and flashes of light when people walk through the pavilion.
100,000 LED Spheres in the River at Tokyo Hotaru Festival
(images via: steve nagata 1 + 2)
The Sumida River in Japan gave off a beautiful and somewhat eerie blue glow during the Tokyo Hotaru Festival when 100,000 solar-powered LED spheres went floating downstream. The installation was meant to mimic a swarm of fireflies bobbing along the river. At the end of the installation, the spheres were caught in giant nets.
Cathedral Made of 55,000 LED Lights
(images via: licht festival gent)
It’s a jaw-dropping cathedral for the modern age: a spectacular showcase of 55,000 LED lights, created for the 2012 Light Festival in Ghent, Belgium. The Luminarie De Cagna, as it was called, towered nearly 92 feet into the air.
Zero Energy GreenPix Media Wall
(images via: greenpix.org)
The entire front wall of the Xicui entertainment complex in Beijing, China is one big LED display – and the whole thing runs on solar power! Aptly named the Zero Energy GreenPix Media Wall, this wonder of LED technology was first created for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The photovoltaic panels that power the lights are integrated into the glass curtain wall of the building.
