On Monday I wrote about the innovative wireless LED crystal installation by artist Daan Roosegaarde, which will be unveiled in Amsterdam this week. As so often happens, I then realized I had only hit the tip of the iceberg in regards to Roosegaarde’s LED-related creativity. It turns out the Dutch designer has created several unique LED-based art installations, a couple of which I’ll highlight this week. Let’s start with the Sustainable Dance Floor.

We all know dancing is awesome: it’s good for your body, your mood and depending on your sense of rhythm, it can be fun to watch, too. With Roosegaarde’s Sustainable Dance Floor, dancing can be good for the planet as well. Installed in Rotterdam, Netherlands-based Club Watt, which claims to be the world’s first sustainable dance club, the floor illuminates using RGB LED strip lights that are powered by the kinetic energy of dancers. The more you dance, the brighter it gets! The vibrations from the dance floor also help to power the sound system and lights elsewhere in the club. Upon further inspection, I discovered that this sustainable dance club concept is quite effective. Club Watt offers a place for night owls to party responsibly, claiming 30% less energy consumption, 50% less water use, 50% less refuse generated and 30% fewer CO2 emissions than comparable clubs.

Roosegaarde’s Sustainable Dance Floor is a big part of the solution, as its tiles generate piezoelectricity: electricity that is derived from “mechanical stress,” or squeezing. The more “hip-hop-hurray” that occurs atop the tiles, the more squeezing happens to their internal parts, which generate and harvest the resulting electricity. The “peizo effect” can power anything, including the RGB controller and LED strip lighting that ignites and changes color in the floor.

Roosegaarde writes, “We believe sustainability is about doing more, instead of less. Via smart technologies a sensual and interactive environment is created in which dancers are engaged with the sustainable experience.” Indeed, our world is filled with endless vibrations. And thanks to forward-thinking artists like Roosegaarde, we are beginning to put it to good use. See Sustainable Dance Floor in action here.

Thanks to Studio Roosegaarde for the images