Where'd that building go? Korea to get 'invisible' skyscraper

Now you see it, now you don't. A 1,476-foot tower planned for construction just outside of Seoul, South Korea, appears to disappear through optical technology.

by Leslie Katz

September 13, 2013 1:39 PM PDT

A concept drawing of the Tower Infinity.

(Credit: GDS Architects)

If you're among those eagerly awaiting a working invisibility cloak, get ready to be jealous. A South Korean skyscraper may get one before we humble (and highly visible) humans do.

International architectural firm GDS Architectsreports that it's received a construction permit to begin building "the world's first invisible tower." The Tower Infinity will stand 450 meters (1,476 feet) and be situated in Cheongna, near the Incheon Airport just outside of Seoul.

Like other concepts for invisibility cloaks that have tantalized the geeky imagination, this one relies on optical illusion.

The glass-encased Tower Infinity, also called City Tower, will be fitted with a high-tech LED facade that integrates projectors and 18 strategically placed weatherproof optical cameras.

The cams will snap real-time pictures of the area directly behind the building, digitally stitch the images into a panorama, and project them back onto the building's reflective surface. That will create the illusion that viewers are looking straight through the structure to the other side, making it appear to blend into the skyline at certain times of day.

"The tower subtly demonstrates Korea's rising position in the world by establishing its powerful presence through diminishing its presence," reads a description on the GDS site. "Korea will have the unique position of having the 'best' tower by having an 'anti-tower."

Do note, though, that the concept's not just about symbolism.

"This same technology also allows the tower to become a 450-meter-tall billboard screen and urban focal point for all arriving at Incheon," GDS says in a statement. No word year on the relationship between the structure's invisibility and planes from the nearby airport.

In addition to possessing superhero capabilities, the tower will house a 4D theater, a water park, landscaped gardens, and the third-highest observation deck in the world. GDS has not revealed a target completion date.

An explanation of how the optical technology works. (Click to enlarge.)

(Credit: GDS Architects)

(Via Forbes)

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etd19104 hours ago

Wouldn't it have more cons than pros?

gork_platter5 hours ago

Lots of dead birds and the trauma of seeing birds fly into your window and a bloody pile of dead birds at the base of the building in 3...2...1....

Nereus1718 minutes ago

@gork_platter Birds? What about police, traffic, life-line emergency helicopters?

FantasticMrFox6 hours ago

How do we know they haven't already built it? Hmmm???

twriter7 hours ago

Just what a low-flying plane needs to worry about.

spinjiffy7 hours ago

An "invisible" tower near an airport? That's nice :)

xxcarrier7 hours ago

Won't the Romulans protest this gross violation of several interstellar treaties?

techgeekdude6 hours ago

@xxcarrier That's so nerdy, yet I completely understand what you're talking about.

Khromy3 hours ago

@xxcarrier Well, if we're in J.J. Abram's universe, maybe not...?

charleshiggins7 hours ago

I'm sure they will put aircraft clearance lights on this cloaked tower. How long before this technology shows up on fighter planes and bombers? Once it is proven practical you'll see it used all kinds of ways. Invisible Man anyone?

NazTech5 hours ago

It would only work from certain angles. Besides, modern anti-aircraft systems depend on radar and infrared detection. A bomber, like the B-2 at 50,000 feet is nearly invisible to the human eye. Unlike the old "bomber streams" of massed bombers dropping hundreds of dumb bombs in WW2 and Vietnam, B-2s fly solo, at night (in regions of advanced AA defenses).

akcies7 hours ago

Won't that projection system only work from certain distances and elevations?

As in: What one person at ground level sees as "behind" the building's ~10th floor (the sky or the sun, probably) will be entirely different from what a person on the 20th floor of a neighboring building sees looking at the ~10th floor (the street/ground).

Meaning: What's projected at varying heights on the building will only line up as what's behind the building from very specific elevations of the viewer.

Am I wrong?

DaleCarterAlabama6 hours ago

@akcies You are correct. The effect would be most effective at a certain distance.

Good catch. I wonder at what distance and perspective the building would be the most invisible?

lawrencejob15 hours ago

@DaleCarterAlabama @akcies It is possible that the LEDs can be shielded such that they can only seen from certain angles. That in mind, there could be two (or more) images projected depending on your distance (and thus vertical angle).