Atmospheric Lighthouse is the first installation outside the Torre Glòries viewpoint, an invitation to take a conscious look at the urban ecosystems found in Barcelona and all the other cities. It is a visual interface between the city and its environment and a visualisation of the interaction between the atmosphere and the city. It works by capturing and analysing atmospheric data in real time to display the flow of air around the tower’s glass skin. The wind’s speed and direction generate changing patterns of light while the measurements of CO2, small particles and nitrogen oxides affect the colour. The project gives visibility to the dust and sand hailing from the desert, the humidity from the sea and the fresh air from the mountains. It shows the urban canyon effect that occurs when air bounces off high-rise buildings, the flow of air absorbing particles from burning fossil fuels and transporting them outside the city.

Work loaned by Mirador Torre Glòries.

Richard Vijgen is a Dutch artist and designer specialising in artistic data displays. He creates multi-sensory experiences that bring visibility to the technological aspects of reality. His work offers poetic interpretations of data and offers a dialogue between the human perspective and the incorporeal world of digital networks, algorithms and wireless communication. His work has been exhibited and incorporated into museum and art-institution collections around the world, including the Pompidou Centre, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Barbican Art Gallery, ZKM, Ars Electronica, the Vitra Design Museum and Manifesta 12. Founded in 2009, his studio has been evolving into an experimental practice that explores new technologies, interactions and aesthetics to visualise the invisible. Vijgen has had articles published in the Yale Architectural Journal, Volume Magazine, New Challenges for Data Design and the Parsons Journal for Information Mapping.