Zebra Building in Riyadh Reacts to Thunderstorms

Daniel Canogar's work projected on the Zebra Building
Daniel Canogar's work projected on the Zebra Building
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Zebra Building in Riyadh Reacts to Thunderstorms

Daniel Canogar's work projected on the Zebra Building
Daniel Canogar's work projected on the Zebra Building

Daniel Canogar’s Bifurcation, which is part of the Noor Riyad festival, has drawn many visitors to the Zebra Building who flock to see its facade

Connected to the internet, the building responds to real-time data tracking thunderstorms across the globe.

The Spanish artist, Canogar, is one of the prominent light artists whose artworks have been projected on emblematic facades, including Amalgama El Prado in Madrid and Times Square in New York.

Relying on an algorithm created by Canogar that uses data from a storm-tracking webpage, the Zebra Building in the King Abdullah Financial District has a lightning bolt that sparks with every thunderstorm striking somewhere across the globe. The projected animation gets stronger with the magnitude of thunder.

For his part, Canogar said it was an honor for him to be present this work alongside his colleagues.

"Some of them were my teachers in the field of light art.”

The Noor Riyadh festival is one of the programs of the Riyadh Art project, which aims to place 1,000 original public art installations across the city and transform Riyadh into an open art gallery.



Ancient Egyptian Coffin Given New Life in Britain

Staff at Swansea University welcome back the artifact. Photo: Swansea University
Staff at Swansea University welcome back the artifact. Photo: Swansea University
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Ancient Egyptian Coffin Given New Life in Britain

Staff at Swansea University welcome back the artifact. Photo: Swansea University
Staff at Swansea University welcome back the artifact. Photo: Swansea University

An ancient Egyptian coffin was given a new life after it has been returned to Swansea University's Egypt Center in Wales.

The artifact, believed to date from about 650 BC, is now back at the university after thousands of hours of conservation work at Cardiff University, where it was painstakingly cleaned, reconstructed and consolidated to prevent it from deteriorating further, according to BBC.

The coffin, originally made for a man called Ankhpakhered in the Greek city of Thebes, was transported back under the watchful eye of the center’s curator Dr. Ken Griffin.

Staff described the finished project as “beyond our wildest dreams.”

“The coffin was gifted to us by Aberystwyth University in 1997 but details about its history are sketchy,” Griffin said.

He added: “It actually ended up being used as a storage box at one time, with other Egyptian objects placed in it for safekeeping.”

The university’s Phil Parkes explained that the wooden coffin was covered in textile and then had a thin layer of decorated plaster over the top.

He said: “Much of that textile had become detached over time and was just hanging loose.”

Parkes added that the separate wooden head was detached and there were a couple of large pieces of wood missing, the side of the base had fallen off and it was in a very sorry condition overall.