Minimal Ring – Museum

Eleven works in an exhibition hall, on free-standing walls and in a cabinet

VisualisationMuseumFree spatial study

Visualisation of a fictional space – not a realised project.

An exhibition hall of 48 × 36 metres, nine metres high. Free-standing walls divide it into galleries, bays and vistas; eleven works from the Minimal Ring series run on fourteen projectors – an exhibition that visitors can walk around, cross and explore from wall to wall.

The tour begins at a double-sided entrance wall: “Puls” on the front, and on the back “Stapel” in portrait format, two projections one above the other. Beyond it, two short walls with “Schwelle” and “Raster” open a portal to the main gallery, where “Spalten” fills the end wall as a 16-metre panorama. To the west follow three bays with “Gegenlauf”, “Takt” and “Schiene”; in the north-east, “Reihe” runs across the corner on two walls. A closed, dark cabinet shows “Leere” across the full width of the wall, the south-east bay “Versatz”.

The exhibition walls, five and a half to six metres high, stand bright and free in the dark hall; the projectors hang visibly from trusses beneath the hall ceiling, and the portrait-format projector stands on a floor stand. From above, the hall reads as a labyrinth of images; at floor level, as a sequence of rooms with ever-new lines of sight. Around a hundred visitors spread out in front of the works, on the benches and in the passageways.

Technical details

What it takes to build this space: dimensions, equipment, brightness.

Two Barco G62-W9 projectors with R9801840 G lens 0.75-0.95:1 (short throw), 9,500 lumens each, hang from cross trusses. Each partial image measures 8.00 × 4.50 m with its bottom edge at 1.20 m; the throw distance is 6.50 m (throw ratio 0.81:1, lens shift -45% vertical). Calculated luminance on the wall: approx. 84 cd/m². Four Panasonic PT-MZ882 projectors with ET-ELW22 lenses (short-throw zoom), 8,200 lumens each, hang from cross trusses. Each partial image measures 6.00 × 3.38 m with its bottom edge at 1.10 m; the throw distance is 4.80 m (throw ratio 0.80:1, lens shift -45% vertical). Calculated luminance on the wall: approx. 129 cd/m². Two Panasonic PT-MZ882 projectors with ET-ELW22 lenses (short-throw zoom), 8,200 lumens each, hang from cross trusses. Each partial image measures 5.00 × 2.81 m with its bottom edge at 1.10 m; the throw distance is 3.95 m (throw ratio 0.79:1, lens shift -45% vertical). Calculated luminance on the wall: approx. 186 cd/m². One Barco G62-W9 projector with R9801840 G lens 0.75-0.95:1 (short throw), 9,500 lumens, hangs from a cross truss. The image measures 8.00 × 4.50 m with its bottom edge at 0.60 m; the throw distance is 6.50 m (throw ratio 0.81:1, lens shift -45% vertical). Calculated luminance on the wall: approx. 84 cd/m². One Panasonic PT-MZ882 projector with ET-ELW22 lens (short-throw zoom), 8,200 lumens, hangs from a cross truss. The image measures 4.50 × 2.53 m with its bottom edge at 3.03 m; the throw distance is 3.53 m (throw ratio 0.78:1, lens shift -45% vertical). Calculated luminance on the wall: approx. 229 cd/m². One Panasonic PT-MZ882 projector with ET-ELW22 lens (short-throw zoom), 8,200 lumens, stands on a floor stand. The image measures 4.50 × 2.53 m with its bottom edge at 0.50 m; the throw distance is 4.29 m (throw ratio 0.95:1, lens shift 48% vertical). Calculated luminance on the wall: approx. 229 cd/m². Two Panasonic PT-MZ882 projectors with ET-ELW22 lenses (short-throw zoom), 8,200 lumens each, hang from cross trusses. Each partial image measures 4.80 × 2.70 m with its bottom edge at 1.00 m; the throw distance is 3.78 m (throw ratio 0.79:1, lens shift -45% vertical). Calculated luminance on the wall: approx. 201 cd/m². One Panasonic PT-MZ882 projector with ET-ELW22 lens (short-throw zoom), 8,200 lumens, hangs from the ceiling. The image measures 7.00 × 3.94 m with its bottom edge at 0.40 m; the throw distance is 5.65 m (throw ratio 0.81:1, lens shift -44% vertical). Calculated luminance on the wall: approx. 95 cd/m². Alternatives, price range and all dimensions per device are listed in the equipment list; floor plan, section and axonometric view show the projection cones.

Room

The room of the scenario and how the images are placed in it.

Room: exhibition hall with free-standing exhibition walls, cabinet and foyer
Configuration: tour: panorama, seven single projections, across the corner, portrait format, cabinet
Visitors (approx.): 100

Room	Width	Depth	Height
Exhibition hall	48 m	36 m	9 m
Foyer	12 m	8 m	4 m
Cabinet	10 m	9 m	4.5 m

Projection

How the images are created: equipment, image size, distance and mounting.

2 × Projector

8 m × 4.5 m per image

Bottom edge: 1.2 m
Distance: 6.5 m
Throw ratio: 0.81 : 1
Lens shift: -45 % vertical
Mounting: on the truss

4 × Projector

6 m × 3.38 m per image

Bottom edge: 1.1 m
Distance: 4.8 m
Throw ratio: 0.8 : 1
Lens shift: -45 % vertical
Mounting: on the truss

2 × Projector

5 m × 2.81 m per image

Bottom edge: 1.1 m
Distance: 3.95 m
Throw ratio: 0.79 : 1
Lens shift: -45 % vertical
Mounting: on the truss

1 × Projector

8 m × 4.5 m per image

Bottom edge: 0.6 m
Distance: 6.5 m
Throw ratio: 0.81 : 1
Lens shift: -45 % vertical
Mounting: on the truss

1 × Projector

4.5 m × 2.53 m per image

Bottom edge: 3.03 m
Distance: 3.53 m
Throw ratio: 0.78 : 1
Lens shift: -45 % vertical
Mounting: on the truss

1 × Projector

4.5 m × 2.53 m per image

Bottom edge: 0.5 m
Distance: 4.29 m
Throw ratio: 0.95 : 1
Lens shift: 48 % vertical
Mounting: on a stand

2 × Projector

4.8 m × 2.7 m per image

Bottom edge: 1 m
Distance: 3.78 m
Throw ratio: 0.79 : 1
Lens shift: -45 % vertical
Mounting: on the truss

1 × Projector

7 m × 3.94 m per image

Bottom edge: 0.4 m
Distance: 5.65 m
Throw ratio: 0.81 : 1
Lens shift: -44 % vertical
Mounting: on the ceiling

All partial images belong to one picture – one computer outputs them simultaneously and frame-accurately.

Real time and interaction

The film shows a recording. In the installation the work is computed live – and can respond to the space and its visitors.

Computation: live, in real time, on a high-end computer with a powerful 3D graphics card, NVIDIA RTX 4070 or higher; with many image surfaces also with several graphics cards
Output: all projectors in a room from one computer, as coordinated zones rather than separate videos
Interaction: 3D LiDAR scanners capture people and movement in the space; the work can respond to them
Fitting: mapping to the actual architecture – edges, columns, ceilings and floors

Brightness

Whether the image will be bright enough: luminance achieved against the target value. The line in the bar marks the target value.

2 × Barco G62-W9bright enough

Luminance: 84 cd/m²
Target value: 60 cd/m²
required luminous flux: 8,822 lm
Luminous flux: 9,500 lm

4 × Panasonic PT-MZ882bright enough

Luminance: 129 cd/m²
Target value: 60 cd/m²
required luminous flux: 4,962 lm
Luminous flux: 8,200 lm

2 × Panasonic PT-MZ882bright enough

Luminance: 186 cd/m²
Target value: 60 cd/m²
required luminous flux: 3,446 lm
Luminous flux: 8,200 lm

1 × Barco G62-W9bright enough

Luminance: 84 cd/m²
Target value: 60 cd/m²
required luminous flux: 8,822 lm
Luminous flux: 9,500 lm

1 × Panasonic PT-MZ882bright enough

Luminance: 229 cd/m²
Target value: 60 cd/m²
required luminous flux: 2,791 lm
Luminous flux: 8,200 lm

1 × Panasonic PT-MZ882bright enough

Luminance: 229 cd/m²
Target value: 60 cd/m²
required luminous flux: 2,791 lm
Luminous flux: 8,200 lm

2 × Panasonic PT-MZ882bright enough

Luminance: 201 cd/m²
Target value: 60 cd/m²
required luminous flux: 3,176 lm
Luminous flux: 8,200 lm

1 × Panasonic PT-MZ882bright enough

Luminance: 95 cd/m²
Target value: 60 cd/m²
required luminous flux: 6,754 lm
Luminous flux: 8,200 lm

Equipment

The reference devices used for the calculations. Devices of the same class are equally suitable.

Barco G62-W9

Lens: R9801840 G lens 0.75-0.95:1 (Short Throw)
Luminous flux: 9,500 lm
Weight: 17.4 kg

Alternatives (3)

Model	Lens	Luminous flux	Luminance
Panasonic PT-REZ15	ET-C1W400 (Weitwinkel-Zoom)	15,000 lm	133 cd/m²
Panasonic PT-RQ35K2	ET-D3LEW200 / ET-D3LEW201 (Kurzdistanz-Zoom)	30,500 lm	270 cd/m²
Barco UDX-4K40 FLEX	R9862001 TLD+ 90 Grad ST (0.65-0.85), am UDX-4K 0,72-0,94	40,000 lm	354 cd/m²

Panasonic PT-MZ882

Lens: ET-ELW22 (Short-Throw-Zoom)
Luminous flux: 8,200 lm
Weight: 18.6 kg

Alternatives (3)

Model	Lens	Luminous flux	Luminance
Barco G62-W9	R9801840 G lens 0.75-0.95:1 (Short Throw)	9,500 lm	149 cd/m²
Panasonic PT-REZ15	ET-C1W400 (Weitwinkel-Zoom)	15,000 lm	236 cd/m²
Panasonic PT-RQ35K2	ET-D3LEW200 / ET-D3LEW201 (Kurzdistanz-Zoom)	30,500 lm	479 cd/m²

Price range and equipment list on request.

Drawings

Axonometric view, floor plan and section show the space and the projection cones.

Minimal Ring – Museum — Axonometric view — **Axonometric view** · not to scale

Minimal Ring – Museum — Floor plan — **Floor plan**

Minimal Ring – Museum — Section — **Section** · not to scale

Glossary

Real time: The image is recomputed at every moment, about 60 times per second, instead of being played back as a finished video.
3D LiDAR scanner: Scans the space with laser light and captures people and movement in three dimensions – the basis of the interaction.
High-end computer: A computer with a powerful 3D graphics card – NVIDIA RTX 4070 or higher – that computes the image live and drives all projectors at once.
Mapping: Fits the projection to the actual geometry of the space so that image and architecture meet exactly.
Throw ratio: Distance divided by image width. At 0.8 : 1, the projector for an image 6 m wide stands 4.8 m away.
Lens shift: Shifts the image within the lens without tilting the projector – so it stays rectangular.
Luminous flux: How much light the projector emits, in lumens.
Luminance: How bright the image surface appears to the eye, in candelas per square metre. In a dark room, about 60 is enough.
Bottom edge: The height of the bottom edge of the image above the floor.
Synchronised output: Several projectors show parts of the same image; one computer outputs them simultaneously – computed live or as video.