QR code buildings on the rise

MVRDV QR Code Building

MVRDV QR Code Building - Mock Up

QR coded architecture is new ground for the popular black and white barcode. Indeed, when one thinks of QR codes it seems reasonable to see a code on the side of a building rather than all over the building. However, architects at MVRDV, a global operating architecture firm, are already underway in making the world’s first QR coded building in Dijon, France. Apparently, the codes aren’t just for mobile marketing anymore.

The building in question is, technically, already standing. The firm has chosen an abandoned factory, once the home of a Dijon mustard laboratory, as its canvas. The building will be renovated and parts of it reconstructed. The end result will be a QR themed call center. The project is expected to be completed sometime in 2012.

The exterior of the building will feature the familiar blocky patterns of a QR code, as shown above in a mock up photo. These patterns will often coalesce into a fully scan able code which will be linked to the mobile website of whomever ends up owning the building. The firm is still undecided regarding the interior, but initial drafts suggest that it too will be QR inspired. While this may be one of the more innovative uses of the codes, it is not the first time such a plan was put in motion.

Sohne & Partners, another innovative architecture firm, has plans to build a hotel in Dubai whose theme is also based on QR codes. While their project’s completion is situated for a vague date in the future, the hotel promises to be the largest, albeit second, building in the world to be inspired by QR.

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