Produced in 2003 by Derivative with architectural visionaries Herzog and de Meuron for the then-brand new Prada Epicenter Store in Tokyo, this was the longest-running TouchDesigner installation as of 2019. It was one of the production projects we did to get going in the early days of Derivative, and when we migrated to our new website in 2018 this article (being all Flash) did not survive. Hypersurface is a live animated artwork guided by the moon cycle, rising in pulsing activity up to midnight and drifting down toward sunrise, programmed in TouchDesigner by Jarrett Smith to evoke its behavior. The concept of Jacques Herzog was to create a part of the building structure that behaves as if it is alive, where the transparent structure of the building reveals an inner space of abstract texture. Upgraded in 2011 from TouchDesigner 007 to 077 (!), we are not sure if Hypersurface is still operational now, but if you happen to find yourself in Tokyo at night hungry for high fashion and seminal architecture, tighten your purse strings and make your way to Aoyama!
