Things We Love: Brixel Bricks For The Digital Age
The humble brick has been digitalized.
US-based, product and prototype company, BREAKFAST, recently unveiled a mind-bending new technology called Brixel.
As the name suggests, Brixel combines brick and pixels. They can rotate to any precise position and can spin endlessly in either direction to create customisable, kinetic pixels for art and architecture. The rotating brick can be controlled by an app on your phone to create a myriad of shapes and patterns.
The design flexibility that Brixel affords enables designers to create 3-dimensional interactive installations, facades or sculptures. The orientation and movement of a single Brixel is customisable as is its size, shape, material and colour – so the effect can be enhanced and tailored to the designer’s vision.
The multipurpose quality of the Brixel allows it to be utilized in creating interactive artworks. It can also be employed inbuilding elements such as facades or divider walls to create sweeping futuristic displays.
“We saw an opportunity to blur the lines between what is deemed ‘art,’ ‘infrastructure,’ and ‘digital display,’ explains BREAKFAST’s Co-founder and Head of Design, Andrew Zolty. “We sought to develop a new medium that would allow us to create a variety of captivating installations that are, at first, perceived as art, and second, deliver relevant information and unique experiences.”
BREAKFAST has utilised the Brixel bricks in a series of experimental installations. One such installation was at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Museum where the mirrored Brixels, creating a trippy mirror that matches your silhouette and gives you a one-to-one reflection, moving with you.
