The second-tallest building in California, Salesforce Tower has already changed the San Francisco skyline, but when the building opens on Tuesday, it will come with a little something extra: a nine-story, twinkling LED display.
It’s being touted as the tallest public–art installation in the United States, and local artist Jim Campbell (the man who brought you the Bay Lights) has been working on the project for more than three years. Some 11,000 LED lights were placed on the unoccupied top floors of the skyscraper, where each night, the lights will sync to project unique images. While some of the images will be prerecorded, many will actually be photos from earlier that day—sent to the installation via six cameras posted around the city. Bonus: When the fog rolls in, the building can also act as a lighthouse.
Best of all, the installation is super energy efficient. The estimated 5,000 watts used to light up the nine-story installation is equivalent to running five toaster ovens.
As part of Tuesday's celebrations, a 15-minute fireworks display will be set off from the top of the 61-story building at 8pm.