ReflecTOR
Client: Architecture Foundation
Location: Hackney
Cost: £30,000
Status: Unbuilt
Category: Public, Competitions
Visualisations: APE Architecture & Design
Conceived, in part, as an inversion of the Fresnel Lenses used in lighthouses, ReflecTOR is a beacon, landmark and observation post.
Lightweight timber frames are infilled with latticed battens and clad in recycled CDs to create faceted blades. Arranged in an overlapping radial pattern these blades form a reflecting cupola on the wharf building. An access gantry bisects the form, terminating in a prow which cantilevers dramatically above the canal.
Pivoting above the cupola a boom directs high luminance LED spotlights onto the reflective surface. A photovoltaic panel charges the lights during daylight hours and acts as a wind vane to spin the boom. The organically generated sequence of reflective flashes from the faceted blades creates a natural echo to the light characteristcs of lighthouses and navigation bouys.