Soundless Music

Lead Designers Ruairí O'Brien

Entry Description

The Soundless Music light composition “The Colors of Light and the Thermodynamics of (Urban) Life” transformed 21 architectural landmarks in Potsdam’s city center into a radiant winter journey. For seven hours, rhythmic color changes and media art – incl. a canal laser show and Barberini Museum façade projections – turned the historic city into a living walk through immersive experience for young and old. In condensed seven-minute sequences, shifting moods reflected seasonal cycles, renewal, and transformation. This third part of a trilogy explored tertiary and analogous color harmonies, evoking atmospheres from vibrant joy to quiet reflection. Beyond spectacle, the project showed how light art can invigorate inner cities during the quiet winter months. By drawing locals and visitors into the heritage core, it created community and commerce while respecting energy efficiency and orchestration. Seventy light moods, tailored to each building’s architecture and synchronized across the city, merged science and art: light as natural phenomenon, emotional catalyst, and poetic homage. In January, when cities often struggle for liveliness, Potsdam’s center became an open, shared stage – demonstrating that light, like music, can move the emotions, silently yet powerfully, celebrating public space and making our cities attractive and lively places to be for all citizens at night.

Sustainability Approach

Only durable technology was used for this temporary installation, which will be used many more times. The total amount of energy consumed (approx. 30–40 kWh) is less than a single charge of an electric car battery. The 20,000 visitors do at the same time not consume any entertainment technology at home. Total electricity consumption is therefore lower.
From a social perspective, this accessible event enlivens public spaces and promotes a sense of community, inclusion, and cultural appreciation of Potsdam's cultural heritage.
From an economic perspective, it stimulates local trade during a season of low demand, supporting shops and hotels. The cultural institutions involved receive significant support through the increased attention. This project demonstrates how cultural light art can create a vibrant, attractive city center while supporting long-term urban sustainability goals for all.

Company Description

Ruairí O'Brien's interdisciplinary work with light covers a broad spectrum in outdoor and indoor lighting, combining technology and design, science and art. The resulting innovative solutions reflect the state of the art and the spirit of the times, yet show great respect for the cultural and historical heritage of the past. Ruairí O'Brien has also worked on a variety of innovative lighting and light art projects, sculptures, and installations. In 2003, he founded the light poetry festival “Light and Word” in Dresden.