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“圆球”横空出世！这一波高科技建筑，我们“hold”得住吗?
SPHERE
“圆球”在内华达州拉斯维加斯盛大开幕
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SPHERE
01 首次亮相
Sphere, which finally opened its doors in Las Vegas, is like nothing we’ve seen before.
一座我们从所未见的建筑——“圆球（Sphere）”终于在拉斯维加斯开放了。
The exterior of the orb-shaped performance venue is a giant LED screen that has, thus far, broadcast a giant eyeball, a satellite view of Earth, an emoji face and a tennis ball, among other images. The inside is home to a humongous internal 16K-resolution screen, with haptic, audio and temperature features meant to be targeted to each member of the audience during live performances.
这座圆形演出场地的外部是一个巨大的 LED 屏幕，目前为止，这张球面型的屏幕上已经播放过了一系列的图像：巨大的眼球、地球的卫星视图、表情符号和网球等。球体内部是一张巨大的 16k 分辨率屏幕，具有触觉、音频、温度等多方面的功能，旨在使现场表演中的每一位观众获得身临其境的体验。
After several years and a reported $2.3 billion in construction, the venue debuted with a U2 show that demonstrated what this kind of futuristic venue can offer. The performance was a two-hour, 22-song affair, employing more than 160,000 audio speakers and stunning wrap-around visuals.
这座建筑历经了数年的建设，据报道耗资 23 亿美元（约合人民币 167 亿元）。“圆球”在知名乐队 U2 的一场演出上首次亮相，展示了其未来主义场馆的全貌。这场演出持续了两个小时，乐队演唱了 22 首歌曲，而场馆使用了超过 16 万个音频扬声器，并展现出了令人惊叹的环绕视觉效果。
SPHERE
在内部，场地提供环绕视觉效果
Over the course of the concert, U2 and the multimedia artists the band commissioned to create video content for the show transported the audience to several distinct virtual locations, making the building around them seem to disappear as the high-resolution screen projected animated scenes of the Las Vegas cityscape and of the desert beyond its outer limits.
整场音乐会期间，U2 委托多媒体艺术家，为演出共同制作了视频，将观众带入了许多不同的虚拟场景。当高分辨率屏幕投射出拉斯维加斯的城市景观和沙漠的动画场景时，周围的建筑仿佛消失了。
While visitors and residents of Las Vegas have had months to react to the creative and, at times, strange LED light shows illuminated on Sphere’s 580,000-square-foot exterior, the first concerts were meant to prove that the venue could be far more than any planetarium or IMAX theater.
虽然在音乐会筹备的数月间，拉斯维加斯的游客和居民已经对“圆球” 58 万平方英尺外墙上的创意图像，以及偶尔进行的奇特 LED 灯光表演做足了反应，但首场音乐会的成功举办意在证明，这个场地的演出效果可以远远超过任何天文馆或 IMAX 影院。
SPHERE
02
建筑规格
Sphere, no doubt, is an architectural feat. At 366 feet tall and 516 feet wide, it’s billed as the largest spherical object in the world. The inside boasts 10,000 immersive seats and standing room for 20,000 people, all under an enormous dome-shaped screen that hangs around and above the audience. The screen is equivalent in size to two soccer fields, says Paul Westbury, the development and construction executive vice president at Sphere Entertainment Company, the live entertainment and media outfit behind the venue.
毫无疑问，“圆球”是一项建筑壮举。它高 366 英尺（约合 111 米），宽 516 英尺（约合 157 米），被称为世界上最大的球形物体。内部涵盖 1 万个沉浸式座位和可容纳 2 万人的站立空间，而在这片广袤的空间之上，一张巨大的圆顶状屏幕悬挂在观众的四周及上方。负责开发和建设的执行副总裁韦斯特伯里称，屏幕的大小相当于两个足球场。
“[I’ve] designed and delivered the Olympic stadiums, premiership football stadiums, multi-use arenas, all sorts of stuff. Big, big mega-projects,” says Westbury.
在设计“圆球”之前，韦斯特伯里已经设计并交付了奥运会场馆、英超足球场、多功能竞技场等各种各样的超大项目。
Notably, that screen can work in concert with a series of other experiential add-ons, including simulated wind and scents, as well as an audio technology called “beamforming.” The speaker system, designed by a company called Holoplot, projects audio with the help of algorithms meant to control sound waves over long distances. Humanoid robots named Aura, meanwhile, are supposed to serve as greeters and answer questions for guests.
值得注意的是，这张屏幕可以与一系列附加组件协同工作，包括模拟风和气味，以及一种名为“波束成形”的音频技术。屏幕的扬声器系统是由 Holoplot 公司设计的，通过控制长距离声波的算法来播放音频。与此同时，场馆内置了名为 Aura 的机器人充当迎宾员，并回答客人的问题。
“圆球”娱乐公司首席执行官兼执行董事长吉姆·多兰与该公司的一款人形机器人Aura互动。
Along with traditional construction materials like steel and concrete, the project required an enormous amount of precision, explains Westbury. Millions of diodes had to be correctly positioned, to the “thickness of a blade of glass,” within the performance display. Speakers needed to be arranged to effectively transmit audio to everyone in the venue—but not interfere with the screen itself. Everyone in Sphere is supposed to have a completely unobstructed view.
韦斯特伯里解释说，“圆球”的建构除了使用钢铁和混凝土等传统建筑材料外，还需要极高的精度。数以百万计的二极管必须正确定位，达到“玻璃刀片的厚度”。扬声器的安排需要有效地将音频传输给场地中的每个人，但不能干扰屏幕本身。“圆球”中每个人的视线都不能受到丝毫阻碍。
SPHERE
03
艺术家的新媒介
Beyond Sphere’s status as an architectural marvel, its digital exterior could be one of the largest canvases for artists ever created.
除了作为一个建筑奇迹之外，“圆球”的数字化外部也可能成为艺术家们有史以来最大的画布之一。
The first artist to use the outer dome, Refik Anadol, took advantage of the venue to create an artificial-intelligence-powered “data sculpture” inspired by space and nature. The art is displayed over more than a million LED “pucks,” which each includes dozens of diodes that can broadcast hundreds of millions of colors.
第一个使用外部穹顶的艺术家 Refik Anadol 利用“圆球”的场地，创造了一座人工智能驱动的“数据雕塑”，其灵感来自空间和自然。这些艺术作品被展示在超过一百万个 LED “冰球”上，每个“冰球”都包括几十个可以播放数亿种颜色的二极管。
Advertisers are making use of Sphere, too. The “Exosphere” has already been used to broadcast a promotion for the Mortal Kombat 1 video game and an NFL Sunday football subscription program. David Hopkinson, president and COO of Madison Square Garden Sports (Sphere Entertainment Company includes MSG Networks), has promised that the structure will be used for “brand storytelling.”
广告商也在利用“圆球”。圆球的外部屏幕已经播放过了知名游戏《真人快打1》(Mortal Kombat 1)的促销广告，以及 NFL 的周日橄榄球订阅节目。麦迪逊广场花园体育公司的总裁兼首席运营官大卫·霍普金森承诺，会将圆球的结构用于“品牌叙事”。
U2乐队在内华达州拉斯维加斯的Sphere举行的U2:UV Achtung Baby Live开幕之夜表演。图为开幕式上艺术家Marco Brambilla使用生成式人工智能技术创作的作品《King Size》
“It’s fantastic, without this technology and without the permanent installation of the LED screens,” Brambilla told Billboard. “I’d already worked on some fairly ambitious projects. This was, by a factor of four, more ambitious in terms of the technology involved.”
“这座建筑太棒了。如果没有这种高超的设计、没有那些屹立不倒的 LED 屏幕，不知道要损失多少视觉效果。”艺术家 Brambilla 告诉《公告牌》月刊，“我参加过不少相当有野心的项目。但就‘圆球’所涉及的技术而言，连‘雄心勃勃’这个词都显得相形见绌。”
The same principle applies to sound quality. U2’s The Edge told Wired that, because of its advanced audio system, Sphere allowed the band to achieve an “intimate” connection with the audience that wouldn’t have been possible in a traditional arena. The screen is designed to be permeable, he explained, so no reverb tarnishes the sound.
“圆球”的音质效果同样不容小觑。U2 乐队的吉他手 The Edge 告诉《连线》杂志，“圆球”的音频系统十分先进，可以让乐队与观众的联系“亲密无间”，而这在传统舞台上是不可能实现的。他解释说，“圆球”屏幕的设计是通透的，所以不会有混响影响声音。
球体上展示的一个眼球似乎俯视着
拉斯维加斯大道附近金沙大道上的车辆
For some, Sphere might make sense as a novelty experience fit for the Las Vegas strip, but they’re not necessarily convinced the project has actually created an entirely new form of art. Critics have their reasons. The New York Times noted that, at times, the screens could produce an “air of seasickness.”
对于一些人来说，“圆球”可能是拉斯维加斯大道上一种较为新奇的体验，但值得质疑的是，这个项目是否真的创造了一种全新的艺术形式。也有理由充分的批评者。《纽约时报》指出，“圆球”的屏幕有时会让观众产生一种“晕船的感觉”。
Broader concerns lurk, too. In London, where executives are hoping to build the next Sphere, residents are reportedly worried about light pollution. While Las Vegas is already inundated with light pollution — there’s fear that other locations could disrupt local wildlife, according to Kevin Houser, an engineering expert at Oregon State University who focuses on light sources and lighting design.
更广泛的担忧也在隐隐蛰伏。伦敦高管们希望在当地建造下一个“圆球”，但据报道，居民们对建造过程中产生的光污染表示担忧。俄勒冈州立大学的光源和照明设计工程专家凯文·豪瑟说，拉斯维加斯早已被光污染淹没，而若要在其他地方建造类似的建筑，很可能会伤害到当地的野生动物。
“Flora, fauna … rely on a predictable pattern of day and night to regulate all kinds of life-sustaining behaviors,” says Houser. “This would include their sleep, their eating, hiding from predators and reproduction. … When we have anthropogenic light at night, it disrupts those behaviors.”
“动植物……依赖于可预测的昼夜模式，来调节自身行为、维持生命体征。”豪瑟表示，“这包括它们的睡眠、饮食、躲避捕食者和繁殖。如果晚上充斥着人造光，则会破坏这些行为。”
SPHERE
04
“圆球”的未来
世界上最大的球形物体花了几年时间和23亿美元建造
The economics of Sphere are ambitious. It may be one of the most expensive venues ever built, and it’s already gone over budget, but Sphere can only fit fewer than half as many people as Yankee Stadium. And while tickets for the U2 show can run to more than a thousand dollars, it’s not clear that future shows will be as lucrative.
“圆球”的经济目标是雄心勃勃的。它可能是有史以来建造的最昂贵的场馆之一，其建筑费用已经超出了原有预算，但从客容量来看，“圆球”只能容纳不到洋基体育场一半的人。且尽管 U2 演出的票价可能超过 1000 美元（约合人民币 7217 元），但未来的演出未必都会如此有利可图。
What remains unclear is whether Sphere can keep up the momentum. Executives are betting that audiences will still be interested in what Sphere has to offer when U2 leaves — and that creatives will be intrigued enough to produce new content for its unique and demanding format. But it’ll be up to audiences to determine whether the venue succeeds at its goal: to establish a new type of live medium, with new types of live experiences.
目前尚不清楚的是，“圆球”能否保持这种获利势头。管理者们打赌，当 U2 离开后，观众仍然会对“圆球”提供的内容感兴趣，而各路创意人才也会被吸引，为这座独特别致的场馆制作新的内容。但这座场馆是否能实现目标——建立一种新型的现场媒体，提供新型的现场体验，还得由观众来决定。
Meanwhile, Sphere Entertainment Company has every intention of building Spheres in other cities and countries.
同时，公司也有意在其他城市和国家建设“圆球”。
“There are huge opportunities to take the lessons that you inevitably learn on the first of its kind and apply them to the next one, so it’s very much our plan to build all of these venues,” says Westbury. “We will get faster. We will be more efficient … because we’ve got this incredible opportunity to do more.”
韦斯特伯里说：“首次尝试中必定会吸取许多经验教训，而要想活用于下一次尝试，机会还是相当重要的。所以我们计划建造更多这样的场地。将来的进展会更快、更有效率……机会难得，我们必须尽力做得更多。”
THE END
原文链接：
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/the-sphere-is-here-are-we-ready-for-more-high-tech-architecture-180983077/
编译 | 徐城铭
排版 | 徐城铭
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