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IPFS News Link • Architecture

The super-black building that absorbs light...

• https://newatlas.com, Rich Haridy

Back in 2014, the "blackest" material ever produced was revealed. Dubbed Vantablack, this material absorbed 99.96 percent of light that hit it. Now designer Asif Khan has created a stunning pavilion spray-painted with Vantablack for the Winter Olympics commissioned by Hyundai.

When Surrey Nanosystems developed a spray paint form of Vantablack in 2016 a controversy quickly brewed. UK artist Anish Kapoor began collaborating with the company and eventually gained exclusive rights to non-reflective pigment for artistic uses. 

Asia Khan's latest building is the first architectural use of Vantablack spray paint, excitingly demonstrating how covering an entire three dimensional structure in the material turns it into a surreal, almost completely flat object. Heightening the illusion, Khan planted hundreds of LED lights into the curved facade creating a kind of star field effect.


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