Minimal Sphere – High-Bay Warehouse

A sphere of light at the end of a 28-metre-high canyon of racking

VisualisationStageFree spatial study

Visualisation of a fictional space – not a realised project.

A high-bay warehouse 120 metres long. Between walls of racking 28 metres high, the main aisle opens up; at its end, “Puls” from the Minimal Sphere series glows – 24 × 13.5 metres on four large-format projectors.

The rows of racking with their orange beams and blue uprights form a canyon a hundred metres long that runs straight towards the image. The work stands on a grid of 2 × 2 projections on the end wall, with the bottom edge at three metres. Faint hall lights above the aisle make the storage levels discernible; the real light comes from the sphere.

Visitors stand at the end of the aisle in front of the image; a few lose themselves in the depth of the canyon. A place of logistics becomes a space with a single direction – towards the light.

Technical details

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

Two Panasonic PT-RQ35K2 projectors with ET-D3LEW200 / ET-D3LEW201 lenses (short-throw zoom), 30,500 lumens each, hang from cross trusses. Each partial image measures 12.00 × 6.75 m with its bottom edge at 9.75 m; the throw distance is 9.90 m (throw ratio 0.83:1, lens shift -59% vertical). Calculated luminance on the wall: approx. 120 cd/m². Two Panasonic PT-RQ35K2 projectors with ET-D3LEW300 lenses (wide-angle zoom), 30,500 lumens each, hang from cross trusses. Each partial image measures 12.00 × 6.75 m with its bottom edge at 3.00 m; the throw distance is 11.10 m (throw ratio 0.93:1, lens shift -159% vertical). Calculated luminance on the wall: approx. 120 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: high-bay warehouse with 28 m high rows of racking and a 16 m wide main aisle
Configuration: one video on 2 × 2 large-format projectors
Visitors (approx.): 140

Room	Width	Depth	Height
High-bay warehouse	60 m	120 m	30 m

Projection

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

2 × Projector

12 m × 6.75 m per image

Bottom edge: 9.75 m
Distance: 9.9 m
Throw ratio: 0.83 : 1
Lens shift: -59 % vertical
Mounting: on the truss

2 × Projector

12 m × 6.75 m per image

Bottom edge: 3 m
Distance: 11.1 m
Throw ratio: 0.93 : 1
Lens shift: -159 % vertical
Mounting: on the truss

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 × Panasonic PT-RQ35K2bright enough

Luminance: 120 cd/m²
Target value: 60 cd/m²
required luminous flux: 19,849 lm
Luminous flux: 30,500 lm

2 × Panasonic PT-RQ35K2bright enough

Luminance: 120 cd/m²
Target value: 60 cd/m²
required luminous flux: 19,849 lm
Luminous flux: 30,500 lm

Equipment

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

Panasonic PT-RQ35K2

Lens: ET-D3LEW200 / ET-D3LEW201 (Kurzdistanz-Zoom)
Luminous flux: 30,500 lm
Weight: 69.8 kg

Alternatives (3)

Model	Lens	Luminous flux	Luminance
Panasonic PT-RQ35K2	ET-D3LEW300 (Weitwinkel-Zoom)	30,500 lm	120 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	157 cd/m²
Barco QDX-4K45	R9862001 TLD+ 90 Grad ST (0.65-0.85), am QDX-4K 0,67-0,88	45,000 lm	177 cd/m²

Panasonic PT-RQ35K2

Lens: ET-D3LEW300 (Weitwinkel-Zoom)
Luminous flux: 30,500 lm
Weight: 69.8 kg

Alternatives (3)

Model	Lens	Luminous flux	Luminance
Panasonic PT-RQ35K2	ET-D3LEW600 (Weitwinkel-Zoom)	30,500 lm	120 cd/m²
Panasonic PT-RQ35K2	ET-D3LEW60 / ET-D75LE6 (Weitwinkel-Zoom)	30,500 lm	120 cd/m²
Barco UDX-4K40 FLEX	R9801414 TLD+ (0.8-1.16), am UDX-4K 0,92-1,33	40,000 lm	157 cd/m²

Price range and equipment list on request.

Drawings

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

Minimal Sphere – High-Bay Warehouse — Axonometric view — **Axonometric view** · not to scale

Minimal Sphere – High-Bay Warehouse — Floor plan — **Floor plan**

Minimal Sphere – High-Bay Warehouse — 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.