Prometheus Student Engineering Bureau believed that architectural lighting could respond to more than sound. For the Kazan Circus, designed by architect G. Pichuev, the team created a system that reacted to the weather. Wind speed controlled the rate of colour change, while rainfall affected colour saturation. The designers also considered adding responses to thunder, wind direction and temperature. The project was developed by Bulat Galeev, S. Andreev, R. Daminov, Rustem Saifullin and N. Volkov.
An anemorumbometer measured wind speed and direction. It produced an electrical signal whose amplitude varied with the wind speed and controlled the rate at which the colours changed.
Four independent groups of PFS-45 floodlights illuminated the building. Three groups used red, green and blue theatrical filters to create the changing colour image; the fourth used unfiltered light.
Power was regulated by PTT-460-80A thyristor converters, which supplied 460 V DC. This required the lamps to be connected in pairs and additional safety measures to be built into the system.
The project attracted considerable public and press attention. Colour photographs of the installation appeared in publications in the USSR and abroad.
Further reading: Rustem Saifullin and R. Daminov, “Dynamic Light, Sound and Architecture”, in The Art of Luminous Sounds: Articles from Prometheus Student Engineering Bureau (Kazan, 1973), pp. 162–180.
