Yerevan TV Tower, Armenia
Standing at 311.7-metres-high, the Yerevan TV Tower is the tallest structure in Armenia.
This tower, one of the most recognisable landmarks in the Armenian capital, has been transformed into an interactive media art installation that responds to real-time city data and individual interaction.
A newly created lighting design, crafted by Ukrainian artist and lighting designer Mykola Kabluka, Founder and Design Director of Expolight, seeks to reimagine the role of the tower in the urban space, transforming it from a purely infrastructural object into a “living” light beacon that changes the city’s night landscape.
Launched on 30 December, the installation “reflects the rhythm and mood of Yerevan in real time”. The lighting content for the tower is generated dynamically, based on city life data: traffic flows, sunsets, temperature, and wind. Through this lighting intervention, the TV Tower looks different every day – a living light organism that breathes with the city. It also responds to events by launching themed lighting programmes – celebrating holidays, announcing sports victories, welcoming guests to the city, and appearing in the colours of the flags of different countries.
Every hour after sunset, the TV Tower is lit up with a special light show, symbolising the beginning of a new hour. This ritual, Kabluka believes, “makes time visible”; each new hour has its own colour, emphasising the rhythm of the city and transforming the passage of time into a shared urban experience.
Personal interaction with the installation of this scale also plays a central role in the project. Through a uniquely designed mobile application, residents and visitors of Yerevan can choose lighting scenarios by scanning a QR code on the central square and observation deck near the Mother Armenia Monument. Users can select from a set of symbolic wishes and corresponding colour themes, triggering light “pulses” that are reflected across the tower and its integrated laser systems.
Speaking further on the concept behind the installation, Kabluka says: “We wanted to create a living light sculpture that would become part of Yerevan’s cultural space and reflect the rhythm, energy, and collective presence of the city. Our custom system allows the tower to respond to individual interaction in real time, so everyone can convey their light wishes to the city and send positive affirmations to the world – in the universal language of light.”
The project is based on a custom-designed lighting system comprising 486 media luminaires and more than 15,000 individually addressable light pixels, integrated across the full height of the Yerevan TV Tower, transforming the structure into a dynamic media surface. These elements are regulated by Expolight’s proprietary software, enabling complex visual scenarios, real-time content generation, and responsive interaction.
The project features uniquely engineered long-range laser systems, visible from distances of more than 10km. Fully coordinated with aviation authorities, the lasers operate within strictly defined airspace parameters, ensuring compliance with international safety standards.
The next phase of the project will synchronise the TV tower’s lighting with the fountains on Republic Square, linking two major urban landmarks into a single coordinated light-and-sound system. Once completed, the installation will operate as a unified composition, where fountains, lasers and the TV tower lights function in precise synchrony, creating a large-scale spectacle in the heart of the city.
Combining architecture, advanced lighting technology and individual engagement the project positions the Yerevan TV Tower as a new symbol of unity and technological progress – transforming an infrastructural landmark into a shared urban experience shaped by light.
