// the periscope

The Periscope- back and front

The Periscope was a winning scheme for the 2010 ‘Time of the Signs’ hoarding design competition for future UTS construction sites. The project will be installed on the hoarding surrounding the new UTS Business School building designed by Frank Gehry and Partners.

The addition to the existing plywood hoarding consists of periscope/kaleidoscope modules of mirror polished aluminium folded into triangular prisms with 45 degree angled ends. Openings at each end of the module, and a corresponding window cut out of the existing hoarding allow users to see indirectly into the site or further down the street through reflections, arousing their curiosity and creating hype about the project under construction.  The mirror surfaces inside the modules multiply the reflected image and present a distorted reality.

At night the installation becomes interactive as motion sensors corresponding with each window trigger coloured lights to flick on and off inside the modules as pedestrians pass or engage with the hoarding.

Length | 33m

Status | approved to be built end of 2011

Location | University of Technology, Sydney

Publication | Architecture Australia Jan/Feb 2011