While Berlin may be the capital of Germany, it has surprisingly few outdoor billboards and public screens, compared to other megatropolises. Except for the (unfortunately) temporary 'Blinkenlights' project and the odd TV Tower laser show, Berlin is not looking forward to any hyper-illuminated Bladerunner-type landscape scenarios. While the city is generally 'dark,' the new SPOTS installation, situated on the historic Potsdamer Platz, is set to shift things and is being hailed as the largest media facade in the world. Created by realites:united and John deKron--who also designed the BIX facade for Peter Cook's Kunsthaus, in Graz--it is composed of 1800 fluorescent lights controlled by a central computer. SPOTS covers all 11 stories of a glass building and, over the next 18 months, the work of artists Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Jim Campbell, and Carsten Nicolai will be presented on its massive walls. SPOTS has been curated by Andreas Broeckmann (curator of the Transmediale festival) but the question remains as to what its function will be after the art has passed... Football World Cup tickets anyone? - Joni Taylor