BLACKBODY Opens World’s First OLED Showroom in New York City (PHOTOS)

Paris may be known as the City of Lights, but French company <a href="http://www.blackbody-oled.com/">BLACKBODY</a> has chosen <a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/nyc">NYC</a> as the location of its new <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/oleds/">OLED</a> showroom - the first of its kind in the world. BLACKBODY opened the new space to the public last night, illuminating SoHo's 25 Greene Street with futuristic chandeliers, over-sized lighting installations and even giant OLED-laced trees. Click through <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/blackbody-opens-worlds-first-oled-showroom-in-new-york-city-photos/blackbody-nyc-showroom-lead/">our gallery</a> for a peek at some of the showroom's most intriguing and innovative offerings - from a mesmerizing light wall that does double duty as a mirror to a motion-activated ripple chandelier that uses an XBOX Kinect camera to detect when people are nearby.

The spectacular new space is filled with illuminated eye candy.

BLACKBODY co-founder Bruno Dussert-Vidalet demonstrating how their light displays can do double duty as mirrors simply by switching them off.

BLACKBODY Art Director Thierry Gaugain and Co-Founders Bruno Dussert-Vidalet and Alessandro Dolcetta.

<a href="http://www.blackbody-oled.com/">Blackbody</a> is the commercial design lighting arm of parent company, Astron FIAMM, which makes OLED lights for aerospace and automotive applications. Because of this existing expertise, Blackbody is able to leverage the R&amp;D that has already been completed by its parent company to create revolutionary interior lighting products that use light in a new way.

The showroom and many of the lighting pieces within were designed by BLACKBODY art director Thierry Gaugain, who is seen here demonstrating a portable light designed by BLACKBODY for Louis Vuitton. When not in use as a light, it doubles as a mirror.

The same Louis Vuitton mirror when it is being used as a light.

So what exactly are <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/oleds/">OLEDs</a> (Organic Light-Emitting Diodes) and how do they differ from LEDs and other lights? <a href="http://www.blackbody-oled.com/#expertise">OLEDs</a> are similar to LEDs in that they are energy-efficient and lightweight, but they also have additional benefits such as being ultra-flat (2mm thick), glare-free, shadow-free and nearly heat-free (they do get slightly warm but nothing compared to a traditional incandescent). OLEDs create more opportunities for out-of-the-box design uses by allowing for larger surfaces of light, and because of their non-dazzling appearance, they can be gazed upon freely with no need for shades or obstructions.

The showroom's opening party was co-hosted by international design magazine <a href="http://www.intramuros.fr/">Intramuros</a> and supported by <a href="http://2013.wanteddesignnyc.com/">WantedDesign</a>.

The Magic Carpet is a motion-activated LED chandelier that works with a rewired XBOX Kinect camera.

BLACKBODY's OLEDs are relatively cool to the touch, meaning that they can be used in ways that would be fire hazards with other kinds of bulbs.

Just in case you were interested, the company derives its name from the scientific term "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_body">black body</a>," which refers to an idealized physical body that absorbs all incident electromagnetic radiation, regardless of frequency or angle of incidence.