“Inside/Out”, a new, permanent, interactive, light installation created by Ivan Toth Depeña for the WisePise Arena (aka the Pit) at the University of New Mexico, will launch in September 2015 to coincide with the beginning of the University’s academic year and the beginning of the Lobo Men’s Basketball season. Located in the Arena’s glass circulation tower, Inside/Out will enliven the building through a dynamic nighttime light display programmed to reflect the activity in Arena.

“The project is inspired by the idea that architecture can be a living, breathing organism that can come alive by the energy of the building’s end users.” says Ivan Toth Depeña. According to Depeña, “the energy created in a building should be projected outward into the environment and conversely, the surrounding environment’s energy brought inward, when possible.”

During the Lobo basketball games and special events, the noise level in the Arena will activate the colors on the exterior of the circulation tower. The noise will be captured and directly programmed in real time via the dynamic quality of the LED lights that are connected to a microphone/sensor located near the bleachers.

Additionally, the lighting is programmed to respond to the environmental/color conditions at sunset, which are different every day. Depeña’s intention is for “Inside/Out” to have a direct dialogue with the landscape and to initiate a conversation between the natural and the artificial.