Projection on buildings

In case your company is interested in a projection, the first step in the process will be the determination of the building (s) for the projection. We will provide you with the necessary guidelines in order to find a suitable location.


Light is an important factor in order to achieve a beautiful projection. Too much light will have a negative effect on the contrast and colors of a projection. It is therefore important to take into consideration which other light sources are near the buildings while choosing the area for projection. If there are some adjacent buildings that have lots of lights it is sometimes possible to cooperate and arrange for the lights to be switched off during a projection. In some areas it is necessary to switch off the community lights, cooperation from the local governments can be of great help. The surrounding lights determine how many projectors are needed for the actual projection as well as the light intensity.

The projectors we use have a capacity to project on a surface of 30 x 20 meters. When we line up several projectors we can actually project on a surface of 200 meters or more. The projectors are seamlessly connected. The distance between the projector and the area of projection plays a crucial role and can be quite a challenge.

A minimum distance of 35 to 40 meters is required between the building and the projector in order to get optimal results. Naturally this distance needs to be free from any obstacles such as trees, lamp poles, tram lines etc.


Projection on modern glass buildings is not possible. The projection will actually ‘go through’ the glass. There is a possibility to cover windows and glass with a special kind of foil, however this is in many cases very difficult and/or too expensive. The color of the façade is important. The ideal situation would be a light colored stone or light concrete. A bright surface adds to the contrasts and quality of the colors of the projection.

In order to execute a projection on a building, a license is always mandatory. In many cases this is a time consuming procedure. It is therefore of utmost importance to start early. It is also possible to ask for a Letter of Intent. Usually this can be done on short notice and the development process can be started while the official bureaucracy takes its time.
In some cases a license is not an option. One can think of a situation when moving images, the animation, draws attention of people who participate in traffic and because of their diverted attention can cause dangerous situations. In this situation a license is seldom issued.

Large buildings along the high way are perfect for projection however in most cases it will be very difficult to get a license and/ or the procedure will take a long time and will cost you a lot of effort. Our advice therefore is to start the procedures for licensing as early as possible in order to prevent frustration and loss of valuable time. Some city officials will see the benefits of 3D projections for their cities and will cooperate in a quick and efficient way, other cities have strict policies for example New York, it is virtually impossible to get a license for 3D projection.

Another point of focus next to the license is permission of the legitimate owner of the building chosen for the projection. In many cases the owner will ask money for permission. We advise you to try and convince the owner that this project will be fantastic advertisement for his building, this might save some expenses. In case this doesn’t work, a fee will need to be paid.

A projection has a certain time frame for development. We start the time frame from the moment of location visit onwards till the actual execution of the projection. The time frame for projections in (Western) Europe is 6 weeks and for the rest of the world 8 weeks.


The cost will differ from project to project. Whenever the first request has been presented it is vital to add as much information and material as possible. One should think of ; photos of the building, a top view (Google Maps of Earth can be helpful) the exact address of the location, the construction drawings and size. A short description of the content of the animation and projection can be helpful in order to give a quick feedback on the possible cost.


The course of the project, preparation and further process can be found under Workflow.