OpenView Luminous Virtual Windows transform the look and feel of interiors by creating spatial polarity (a dramatic change of scale) in otherwise isolated or enclosed spaces through an illusory window view—at full scale—that invites the viewer to explore a day lit, open and wild nature landscape.
OpenView is a new modular virtual window system for commercial spaces that leverages our hardwired habits of perception to create a visceral experience of extended space that easily surpasses standard two-dimensional photographic montages with its vivid realism.
Focus stacking or focus layering, the photographic process used to create OpenView panoramas, mimics the eye’s natural depth of field where everything in view appears in exquisite, focused detail. This property seduces our hardwired habits of perception into imbuing a 2D photographic image with the spatial properties of a genuine landscape.
Unlike standard panoramic nature photography that relies on a single point of focus, OpenView photography uses sequential images taken at multiple focus points to create the illusion of extended space. The photographic sequence is then layered or stacked into a single composite using photo editing software. The results are dramatic. Instead of a photo-realistic mural, OpenView changes the viewer’s assessment of extended space.
And unlike most nature imagery, OpenView photography is not licensed from a commercial or fine art source. We capture all our photography to make sure that the horizon line, which plays a crucial role in creating the illusion of extended space, is placed at the proper height in the window framework. This is a fundamental attribute necessary to create different types of depth illusions. A low horizon line will create the visceral feeling that the viewer, from their point-of-view, can walk right into the landscape whereas a mid to high horizon line will create the feeling of overlooking the vast terrain.
OpenView photography plays with our precognitive expectations and ingrained habits of perception. Our photographers are both experts in reading the topography of a place as much as avid students of cognitive perception. OpenView is designed to play on our psycho-physiology’s ability to map space based on contextual and structural cues. The OpenView landscape illusion uses all these implicit cues to alter the viewer’s assessment of perceived proximity to wide open space.
OpenView’s photographic landscapes require careful planning and the right weather before setting out on the field for image capture. Our photographers record every scene in layered stacks of single shots whose point of focus shifts from the foreground to the background in a carefully controlled sequence. This photographic technique is borrowed from macro photography where the object needs to be in sharp focus within a very tight shot.
This process is used extensively in product photography, but when the technique is applied to large scale landscape photography, we can replicate—without distortion—the depth of field that our sensory processing system and eye effortlessly generates.
Images are printed using professional eight-channel printers to create ultra-high-definition scenes. The LED light box that backlights the photographic panels is calibrated to render a beautiful luminescence that evokes natural daylight. The imagery is then mounted on modular, optical quality acrylic panels with a surface area of up to 5’ x 8’ (1.5m x 2.4m) that can be joined together into much larger window arrays.
OpenView is designed for custom configurations that enable large, enclosed interiors to obtain the wellness benefits of a visual connection to nature; one that provides both prospect—an unimpeded access to a panoramic view, and refuge—a comfortable vantage point from where to enjoy the change of scale. Prospect & Refuge, a term from environmental psychology, is one of the hallmarks of well-designed architectural spaces.
OpenView is also designed for easy assembly and maintenance. The system’s realism relies on recessing the modular panels into a finished wall, which underscores the depth illusion. However, unlike other virtual windows systems that are difficult to service, OpenView is designed for disassembly and long-term maintenance. OpenView features a custom designed LED light box with firtree LED strips that can be snapped off and replaced at the end of their long lifespan or in the rare event of diode malfunction.
This feature makes OpenView a facility management-friendly installation that enables maintenance crews to reach the light box behind the trim face and the image panel to access the lighting system. It also makes the removal, transportation, and recycling of components much easier. OpenView uses a family of elegant wood species and aluminum trim options to create beautiful windows views in the most uneventful interiors.
The OpenView illusion is seen, but its vastness is felt in our body.
