From his home base in Bloomington, Ind., Distinctive Wood Floors' Dan Antes has already been involved in the some of the industry’s most interesting projects, but he isn’t resting on those laurels. “My goal is to push the bounds of reality in every way possible,” he says.
To that end, Antes has been experimenting with combining complex wood floor design with music and light for a multimedia experience. “We’ve literally got this down to where we can projection map a space and put in four projectors and four speakers and some organic materials, like the floor,” he says.
The key to achieving this has been Dan Antes’s involvement in the A&H Collective, a group of 22 companies owned by “visionary people” that share assets as needed (Antes is involved in four of the companies). At the opening of the local village pub, a A&H Collective project, he met Kevin Winkler of Blockhouse Media, who was working with projection mapping. “He sent me some CAD files, and I was like, ‘We have to talk,’” Antes says.
Antes’ floors are created in CAD, so that key piece of the projection mapping was already created. Now, “he uses my CAD to make the music come alive with the lighting and photons,” he explains. The goal now is to sell the installations to night clubs, event spaces and megayachts. “It’s the complete package—you've got the floor that’s normal by day and party by night,” Antes says.
See some of Antes' previous projects featured in the magazine:
Top to Bottom: End Grain ‘Bricks’ Mirror Vaulted Ceiling
Daniel Antes Wins Award for 1,220-Piece Medallion
Playing With Fire: What I’ve Learned Creating ‘Shou Sugi Ban’ Wood Flooring
