Installation – Ryan Lintott

Taikoo Place

Ryan Lintott — Tue, 07 May 2019 19:12:21 +0000

Project Type: Interactive Show Suite
Role: Pitch Development / Technical Director
Company: Squint/Opera
Client: Swire Properties
Completed: 2016

Taikoo Place is hub of 9 interconnected office towers in Hong Kong. In 2014, Swire Properties hired MET Studio to design The Taikoo Brand Experience Centre, a high-end interactive show suite to present their new development. Squint/Opera was brought on board to create films, animations, and interactive content for the space including:

Swire Brand Film – A 4k CGI animation played on an 8-screen video wall.
Taikoo Place Interactive – A Unity 3d interactive presentation on the same 8-screen video wall
Taikoo Place Film – An 8k film on a curved 220-degree 48-screen video wall.
Immersive Office Scene – A CGI view from inside an empty floorplate presented on the same 48-screen video wall.
Virtual Window – A simulated augmented reality window.
Swire Portfolio Interactive – A portfolio presentation app running on an iPad controlling a presentation screen.
Mobile Presentation App – An app to control all of the content as well as the lighting, audio and doors in the show suite.

The result was a series of unique narrative or interactive experiences, telling a story of Taikoo Place and Swire Properties that’s being curated by a presenter on the fly.

As one of the company directors and CTO at Squint/Opera, I worked on the pitch and then as the technical director for this project. For the interactive elements I led the UX design and creative direction. I also helped manage the on-site installation.

External Links:

WCMC Discovery Wall

Ryan Lintott — Sun, 18 Aug 2013 16:42:35 +0000

Project Type: Digital Installation
Role: Pitch Development / Designer / 3D Prototyping
Company: Squint/Opera
Client: Wiell Cornell Medical College
Completed: 2013

A wall-sized digital art piece created from thousands of tiny screens and lenses was designed by Squint/Opera for the $650m Belfer Research Building, part of Weill Cornell Medical College (WCMC) in Manhattan. The shimmering and animated foyer installation celebrates the college’s research work.

The large-scale digital installation (approx 4.6m x 2.7m) comprises 2800 mini screens set in a grid pattern behind a panel of thousands of circular acrylic discs – a reference to the lenses used in medical research. The dual layer construction makes it possible to read the wall from a distance as a single image, while up close each screen gives information about medical discoveries and other news from WCMC’s website. The installation is programmed so that the images and stories change constantly.

To bring the concept to life, every aspect of the hardware was designed from scratch. I was part of the small design team working with the producer, the hardware consultants (Hirsch & Mann) and other designers to develop the initial pitch. We went through many design iterations and I experimented using virtual 3d models to test various lens and screen combinations throughout the process. I also developed a pipeline to produce bespoke image and video content for the wall.

The project has won the CODAworx design award for best educational installation and was a Media Architecture Biennale future prototypes award finalist.

External Links:

Al Maryah Island App

Ryan Lintott — Sat, 10 Aug 2013 18:04:28 +0000

Project Type: App / Interactive Installation
Role: Director / Producer / Technical Director / UX
Company: Squint/Opera
Client: Mubadala
Year Completed: 2013

The app describes every aspect of Al Maryah Island, a massive new district in Abu Dhabi. A 3D map with hotspots allows users to explore many aspects of the project from transportation and phasing to the specific functions of various buildings. The interface was designed to be flexible with a moving menu bar so that users could increase the size of the map window or image window as desired. Flexible navigation allows users to click on specific hotspots on the map or simply swipe through images with the map adjusting accordingly. The app runs on an iPad sitting in front of a large screen that mirrors the content allowing for presentations to larger groups.

My role involved developing and pitching a new app and installation concept for Al Maryah Island’s marketing campaign. I designed the app and worked closely with the client to ensure it presented the marketing content (mostly images, films and 3d models also created by Squint/Opera) effectively.

The Crystal Exhibition

Ryan Lintott — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 18:34:06 +0000

Project Type: Interactive Exhibits, Installations and Films
Role: Director / Technical Director
Company: Squint/Opera
Client: Event
Completed: 2012

I worked with Squint/Opera and Event to complete an ambitious and broad ranging set of interactive exhibits for the Siemens Crystal building in east London. The Crystal, at Royal Victoria Docks, was founded as an independent global hub for debate on crucial issues of sustainable urbanism, and it is home to the world’s largest exhibition dedicated to the future of cities.

In collaboration with Hirsch & Mann, Squint delivered a complex set of interactives, films and installations to communicate challenging issues, ranging from services infrastructure and density to fire safety, in a visually engaging way. The creative solutions included simulation games targeting very specific engineering challenges, films, and generative art installations interpreting city data.

Squint/Opera created a representation of the new building on a whole new 3d navigational platform. This new type of touch screen experience helps visitors understand what makes the Crystal so ambitiously – and successfully – sustainable through feature-led hotspots.

My role involved designing and pitching initial concepts as well as directing and developing the technical solutions required for the 3 interactives, 2 installations and 3 films. Further details on my role in each of the projects can be found on the individual project pages below.

Related Projects:

Prevent Fires

External Links:

Prevent Fires

Ryan Lintott — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 22:04:21 +0000

Project Type: Educational Game
Role: Director / Technical Director / Game Design
Company: Squint/Opera
Client: Event
Completed: 2012

Subproject of: The Crystal Exhibition

Prevent Fires is a game designed to teach fire safety with respect to building design. A player is given a floor plan and a set of fire safety devices (such as smoke detectors, pull alarms, exit signs, etc.) to install throughout. Once the player decides where to install the safety devices, they trigger a fire simulation. If all of the devices were placed correctly, the building inhabitants escape unharmed. There are 3 levels to the game, each one dealing with different, increasingly sophisticated devices.

My role was to design and then direct this project from start to finish. After winning the pitch I worked closely with the client, 3d artists and the developers from Hirsch & Mann to produce the game. I also developed a render pipeline to efficiently produce the 3D-rendered sprites for the game.

External Links:

Newham Media Wall

Ryan Lintott — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 21:41:30 +0000

Project Type: 9-screen Interactive Installation + App
My Role: Director / Technical Director / UX / IT Support
Company: Squint/Opera
Client: Newham Council
Year Completed: 2012

This multiscreen installation contained everything anyone might want or need to know about Newham, telling the story of London’s fastest growing borough. Using an iPad app, visitors were encouraged to explore the history of Newham, today’s public infrastructure (including schools, hospitals, public transportation, cultural venues) and ongoing regeneration projects alongside future investment opportunities.

My role as director and technical director of the project was to design the interactive experience and ensure it could be implemented. At the time we were pushing the hardware and the software beyond their known limitations to play 4k video and Flash animations on a 9 screen video wall.

Douglas & Gordon Interactive Installation

Ryan Lintott — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 21:17:08 +0000

Project Type: Interactive Installation and App
Role: Technical Director / IT Support
Company: Squint/Opera
Client: Douglas & Gordon
Year Completed: 2012

Part of a fully-integrated set of visual media tools provided by Squint/Opera for the London-wide estate agent Douglas & Gordon. The pilot installation in the South Kensington branch houses a central media wall comprised of 9 tiled HD screens. During the daytime the wall is controlled by an iPad app which enables users to search for houses and flats as well as view all kinds of activities, establishments and resources in the neighbourhood – from schools to transport to restaurants and bars. It is connected to live feeds updated by Douglas & Gordon that keeps the content up to date. At night a series animations and films running at 4k are played across the screens.

My role as Technical Director was to manage the development team and the hardware consultants to ensure the installation including all apps and films ran smoothly. I also configured codecs to maximize video quality on the specified hardware and set up the multi-screen scheduling software to guarantee the long-term reliability of the installation.