THE CLOCK

The Trade Square project is a commercial complex located in an old industrial district, shaped by the continuous rotation of a nearby roundabout. This perpetual movement inspired a façade conceived as a temporal surface rather than a static skin. For this project, Atelier dada transformed the cubic front façade into a luminous clock, using low-resolution LED media lines, pixel-controllable and deliberately restrained in their expression.

At the beginning of each hour, the façade reveals the exact time. What follows is a sequence of light that evolves every ten minutes, gradually shifting until the next hour arrives. The system does not seek immediate readability. Instead, it invites attention, memory, and intuition. Those who pass regularly begin to sense the rhythm, to read time not as a number but as a progression. Light becomes a shared pulse, anchoring the building in the collective perception of duration.

At ground level, the long L-shaped volume is punctuated by illuminated torch-like elements installed on the columns. These vertical markers establish a calm and continuous cadence along the pedestrian path, guiding visitors toward the retail spaces and the landscaped garden at the rear of the site. The architecture does not call for attention; it accompanies movement, offering orientation without insistence.

Developed for a client attentive to economic balance and everyday use, this project demonstrates how light can introduce meaning without excess. Through a discreet dialogue between movement, repetition, and pause, Trade Square becomes a place where time is not displayed, but quietly revealed. Architecture and light work together to offer a gentle awareness of the passing hour, grounding the site in a lived, perceptible present.