A testament to innovation and entrepreneurship, Optrix, an emerging technology conceived of by Abhinand Lath and first reported on in A|L's June 2004 issue (page 51), has been renamed SensiTile, now that it is available commercially. It has also been selected by Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) for the firm's award-winning entry, received this September, for the Boulevard der Stars competition in Berlin. The brief called for the creation of a series of plaques to honor German film stars, similar to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. ZHA was one of four firms invited to submit proposals, and ZHA in turn selected SensiTile to develop and fabricate the interactive tiles that make up each plaque. ZHA's scheme proposes 12 SensiTile Terrazzo oval tile-plaques to be installed in front of the Berlin Film Museum, and six additional tile-plaques to be added annually. Tiles will be clustered in groups for directors and actors. The end result will be the 'transformation of the pavement and the creation of a living surface for pedestrian traffic.' More
