Q: What inspired the creation of virtual windows LiquidView?
– I previously had another company, Liquid Canvas, that made high-end video art for commercial and residential clients in the US. I had a client in San Francisco with a beautiful house in the Pacific Heights neighborhood. Its views were beautiful, but not from the dining room, where you could only see the side of the neighbor’s house. We talked about how to replace the view of your neighbor’s house with beautiful views around the world with digital windows, so you could change the view to whatever you wanted at any time. The client wanted us to put screens outside his actual windows and build a waterproof casing and exterior electrical system so he could keep his precious windows intact. This turned out to be more complicated than he wanted from a construction standpoint, and I realized that we could build digital windows and place them inside a wall much more easily than replacing real windows, and design “showcases” so that They looked like real windows that we would place inside a wall, so that they would be recessed and people would think they were real.
Q: How can they transform modern spaces?
– Our windows transform residential and commercial spaces by bringing the outside in, and not just by adding light and views to rooms. We have collaborated with Stanford University (California) to demonstrate the neurobiological health benefits of our windows in built environments, putting legitimate research behind our window systems. With our windows, millions of people can enjoy the benefits of having a view in any room.
Q: Tell us how virtual windows work.
– Our windows have two aspects. First of all, the content. We shot 35 hours of cinema-quality footage in 8.6K (the same camera system James Cameron used for the new Avatar movies), edited it on a 24-hour loop, color-corrected it, and added a 24-hour soundtrack . This takes us several months, since we are making a 24-hour movie in 8K. We compress the files from 40 TB to 200 GB and load them into our media player, which accompanies each window. The window is installed within a wall or on the wall, with a special window mounting system, both designed by the famous industrial design company IDEO.
Our windows look real. Plus, they make you feel like you’re really there, as our windows know where they’re installed, the day of the month, the time you’re viewing them, and the sunrise and sunset times each day, and manipulate seamlessly match the images. So, if someone is in Singapore and it’s 6:50 p.m. and they’re looking at a view of San Francisco, on November 10 their view will be as if they were looking at San Francisco right at sunset. This is all controlled through your phone using our app and part of our IP.
Q: Can users customize or upload their own views to virtual windows, or are they restricted to their content library?
– Currently, users can only access our 24-hour views, a library that will grow by one view per month in 2024. In the future, the system will allow users to update their storefronts with their own or others’ views.
Q: What feedback have you received from virtual windows users?
– People are very happy with our windows as they literally transform spaces and add real value. Architects tell us that they can now add a window anywhere, and this is opening up new opportunities. We have had conversations with developers who believe this will improve rental and vacancy rates in apartments and condos that do not have windows in certain rooms. We had a client install one in a windowless home gym and now his partner looks out at the beach and hears the sound of the waves when he works out. I’m told this also improves their workouts.
Q: What do you think about the future of interior design and architecture?
– As more and more people move to cities and views in residential and commercial environments become more difficult and expensive to achieve, digital windows are the ideal solution to offer millions of people the advantages of having a view and all its benefits.
Q: What are your future plans?
– We will record more 24-hour views from around the world, improve user experience, develop more features and grow our internal teams.
Virtual windows have a feature called “Unexpected Events,” where augmented photorealistic content appears at random times, such as a flock of birds, a ship, etc.
— Mitch Braff, CEO of LiquidView
IN FIGURES
$8,600
costs a single-pane Virtual Window, while the larger three-pane option can be purchased from $60,000.