The LED Tube Geodome is an impressive, state-of-the-art LED installation designed to captivate and mesmerize. This modern eight-meter-wide, five-meter-tall art installation that mixes dynamic lighting and geometric shapes, designed and made by ETERESHOP is crafted from durable LED tubes, creating a glowing, futuristic centerpiece perfect for any occasion.
The Story Behind the Creation of the Geodome
The development of the LED Geodome was driven by the need for a versatile, glowing “Lego-like” system for large-scale installations. Initially, the ETERESHOP team aimed to create custom LED tubes from scratch, focusing on mobility, battery operation, and independent controllers for quick and flexible designs at events and festivals. After over a year of effort and multiple iterations, the high cost made this solution impossible.
Rather than abandoning the idea, the team pivoted to existing LED tube solutions, modifying them to meet our needs. We redesigned the mounts, integrated a complex wired control system, and ensured the tubes remained strong yet lightweight to fit architectural forms. This blend of innovation and adaptation resulted in a robust, eye-catching structure that brings the LED Geodome to life.
Technologies and Materials
Custom Joints for Polygonal Structures
The project required unique joints to connect LED tubes into architectural and polygonal forms. Since no suitable options existed on the market, we designed and produced these joints ourselves. The team has used precision metalworking to manufacture them, but this came at a high cost, especially compared to the affordability of the LED tubes. The challenge was to balance durability and functionality without making the joints prohibitively expensive.
Power and Control Transfer
A major challenge was hiding all power and control wiring to preserve the Geodome’s sleek, luminous design. To achieve this, we integrated cables inside the LED tube structure itself, ensuring both power and signal could be transmitted seamlessly without disrupting the visual integrity of the installation.
Custom Software for Mapping
The Geodome’s hemisphere structure consists of triangular faces, each outlined by three LED tubes. Existing software couldn’t map these triangles effectively, so we developed our own solution to identify and illuminate individual sections. This custom software allowed precise control over lighting effects for the installation.
Power Supply Challenges
Standard LED tubes have strict power limits (up to 48 watts) to prevent overheating, fire risks, and brightness loss. To address this, we incorporated additional “conductor” tubes to transfer power across the structure, ensuring stability and consistent illumination, especially in large-scale designs like the Geodome.
Complex Control Architecture
Power restrictions also required multiple controllers, leading to a complex, branched network architecture. Ultimately, we opted for a wired control system to ensure reliable signal transmission without interference, which is critical for such intricate, large-scale installations.
The final set of the Geodome LED Installation consists of:
LED tubes, connecting rings, legs, control units, LAN wires and 15 PowerCon wires for connecting control units to each other, assembly instructions, software and a ready-made customized project.
Main Characteristics of the LED Tube GeoDome Installation project:
Amount of LED tubes: 165 LED tubes
Size: 8 meters diameter and 4,5 meters height
Operating time: as long as you need
Energy consumption: 8 kW/h
Technologies: programming microcontrollers, control using Madrix and TouchDesigner programs, architectural design, development of all kinds of joints, assemblies, metalworking. All in all, these are standard and already familiar areas of knowledge for us.
Light effects: effects are created using software and downloaded via wifi
Real-time control: available
Usage Possibilities and Limitations
The Geosphere installation is made of modified LED tubes designed by ETERESHOP. These glowing tubes are intended to act as structural components for substantial architectural shapes. Therefore, it is feasible to design and fabricate any polygonal forms with LED tubes functioning as the edges of these polygons; these can be any 2D or 3D objects based on your preference.
Possibilities:
– Installations utilizing our LED tubes are excellent outdoor options because they are waterproof, allowing for the creation of large-scale items. But you can also install them inside spacious locations like gyms (for sport events, exhibitions, low-key concerts), large concert venues, spacious nightclubs, stages (low-poly planes) plus as large standing structures like letters, on walls, along pathways/halls (similar to what we accomplished with LED columns).
– The main interaction possibility advisable for the Geodome LED project is to walk inside/ outside it as it’s spacious enough to chill or dance inside, depending on the purpose you intend for your project and its form.
Restrictions:
– Even though our LED tubes are constructed from extruded polycarbonate, known for its high durability, it is not recommended to climb over the luminous hemisphere or any other items made with these LED tubes, because while they won’t shatter, they could possibly bend and become irregular, which may ruin their appearance.
– The current version of our LED tubes is all wired, so it won’t be possible to take a separate tube away and/or play with it as if it’s a lightsaber, for example.
Conclusion\ Final Result
The LED Tube Geodome combines modern design with dynamic lighting, making it a versatile feature for events. We crafted this eight-meter-wide, five-meter-tall geodesic structure from durable LED tubes and it offers customizable light displays to suit any theme or branding.
Ideal for festivals, concerts, exhibitions, or private events, the Geodome serves as a striking centerpiece or functional space for performances and interactive setups. Its spacious design, immersive 360-degree visuals, and easy assembly make it a practical and engaging addition to any occasion.
Check out our ‘How We Did It’ blog section to see more examples of custom made costumes ETERESHOP team has designed and produced recently. Contact us if you have any ideas or questions.
