Diller + Scofidio
Facsimile 2002
Moscone Convention Center
San Francisco, California

Image courtesy Diller + Scofidio

Diller + Scofidio is currently working on a permanent installation, commisioned by San Francisco Arts Commission, for the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco for 2002-3.

Image courtesy Diller + Scofidio

A 16’ foot high by 27’ wide video screen is suspended by a vertical structure that rides on a horizontal tracking system. Several live video cameras are fixed along the height of the structure pointed into and away from the building. The structure travels slowly along the surface of the exterior facade and broadcasts live and pre-recorded video imagery to the screen as it moves.

Image courtesy Diller + Scofidio

Image courtesy Diller + Scofidio

While the live images naturally correspond with the speed and direction of the scanning motion, the pre-recorded programs (fictional vignettes, virtual transparencies into fictional office buildings) are constructed to simulate the same speed. The apparatus could be seen as scanning device, a magnifying lens, a periscope (a camera at a high elevation looks toward the city), and as an instrument of deception substituting impostors for actual building occupants and spaces.

Schedule: 2002-2003

Client: San Francisco Arts Commission

Architects: Diller + Scofidio
Principals: Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio
Project Architects: Lyn Rice

Engineers: Pol-X West - Les Okreglak

Technical Collaborator: EAR Studio - Ben Rubin

29 September, 2001