Zaha Hadid Architects have released images of their latest project, a sculptural billboard named for its location in Kensington, London. The project, a collaboration between the late Zaha Hadid and partner Patrik Schumacher, marks the firm’s first direct foray into advertising.
Designed for advertising giant JCDecaux, the billboard comprises a digital screen embedded within a twisting double-ribbon of stainless steel. The screen is a stunning 26 metres (86 feet) wide and six metres (20 feet) high, and curves to provide better visibility from the street.
Pedestrians walking behind the billboard experience it instead as a piece of public art; lighting ensures continued illumination both of the sculpture and of the path.
“Both a civic gesture and a promotional medium, the intertwined, looped ribbon design expresses the dynamism of pedestrian and vehicle traffic movements that intersect at this important London junction,” explained Melodie Leung, senior associate at ZHA. “The stainless steel ribbon twists as it encircles the screen, defining a varying silhouette when seen from different viewpoints.”
The project is also an exciting first for JCDecaux, who stated that “...it will be fascinating to see how brands respond to this sculptural digital canvas. This has been a unique collaboration with JCDecaux to develop new possibilities for media platforms; reimagining the billboard as public art.”
