We’re all a aflutter today over “Peeling Layers of Space Out of Thin Air,” an awesome new multi-layer project on the Layar platform from a group of talented architects at Architecture OMI in Ghent, NY. 

The project uses beautiful interactive 3D models and animation, as well as other Layar 5.0 features to create a truly immersive AR experience! If you can make it to Ghent, NY for the opening this Saturday, July 9, we’d love to see your screenshots and videos!

In the meantime, check out this impressive video of Kol/Mac‘s “What is Space?” layer.

OPENING SATURDAY JULY 9 2011 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM Architecture Omi presents Augmented Reality: Peeling Layers of Space Out of Thin Air AUGMENTED REALITY BY ARCHITECTS @ OMI http://www.cleater.com/peeling/ 

Architects: Acconci Studio, Asymptote, Cleater Studio, Kol/Mac, Metaxy, Leeser Architecture, Studio Daniel Libeskind, SHoP, and SITE 

Curator: John Cleater / Program Director: Peter Franck Adviser and Documentation: Mark Skwarek and Will Pappenheimer THE FIELDS SCULPTURE PARK at OMI 1405 County Route 22 Ghent, New York 12075 Bring your smart phone for an evening of architecture in the landscape. 

By pointing your iPhone or Android at the sky, you will see virtual pieces of architecture installed in the physical landscape at Omi. For more information email architecture@artomi.org, visit www.artomi.org or call 518-392-4740.

Update: This project was also featured in the Wall Street Journal on August 31. Check it out!

Giant Rabobank safe marks the spot [for game play] at the Efteling.

In fact, the Walt Disney Company was the first to rake the AR plunge, producing layers for both Disneyland and Walt Disney World last year to help guide visitors around the parks’ many attractions.

Yesterday, however, the Netherlands’ own [fairytale] theme park destination, the Efteling (in cooperation with Dutch bank Rabobank), took its augmentation to the next level by creating an AR game experience for visitors to play on their mobile devices.

The layer, Feetje en de Kluis, aka “Fairy and the Safe” in English, includes an interactive game where you have one minute to collect and save as many coins as possible while avoiding the witch, who will steal them from you if you run into her. There’s also as an interactive audio fairytale about teaching a witch to save money (presumably so she won’t have to steal anymore).

You can launch the fairytale from any location, but in order to play the game you must be in front of the giant Rabobank safe/ATM near the entrance of the Efteling.

Check out this video (in Dutch) that illustrates the Efteling’s magical Layar integration:

Longtime Layar Partner TAB Worldmedia worked with the Efteling and Rabobank to create the Feetje en de Kluis layer. You can check out other cool projects from the folks at TAB Worldmedia on their blog, or follow them on Twitter.

In recent years, Spain has become the country of champions when it comes to football.

In 2010, Spain conquered The Netherlands (we’re still recovering here in Amsterdam) in the World Cup Final with a last minute extra-goal just minutes before the match would have gone to penalty kicks. And just last month, Barcelona defeated England’s Manchester United to win the UEFA Cup for Spain.

Spain is also leading on another forefront - the use of augmented reality and Layar. Spain has fostered some truly impressive augmented reality experiences, including many layers on our platform. With a new layer from one of our Spanish partners, B_Cultura, the worlds of football and augmented reality have finally come together!

With the new Sevilla FC layer, fans of the La Liga club can pose for virtual photographs with their favorite stars. Forward Frederic Kanoute, defender Mauhamadou Dabo, keeper Javi Varas and midfielder Guarente are all posed in the AR view so you can snap a photo with them. You can also take a picture wearing a virtual jersey of the club, including home, away, alternate, Europa League and Copa del Rey variants.

To cap it all off, you can also pose with the team’s emblem, as well as a model of the UEFA Cup. With Layar 5.0’s sharing features, users can easily share their screenshots with friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter.

It’s all very basic and very fun, especially for big fans of Sevilla FC. We at Layar are very excited to see a major football club take it’s first steps into augmented reality and can’t wait to see more intersections of AR and football!

With the most recent Layar upgrade we added the ability to share layers and screenshots with your friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter, so we’re no strangers to social networks. You can follow us Twitter and like us on Facebook to keep up with our day-to-day activity and find links to interesting augmented reality-related content, but recently we’ve been expanding our social horizons.

You may have noticed already if you follow our Twitter feed but Layar has branched out to some new social networks: notably Tumblr and Instagram. On the official Layar Tumblr, you can find a plethora of AR and Layar information - including the stuff we find on the web and share on our internal email. We figured, why not share this with our fans? You’ll find interesting videos, pictures, quotes and other bite-sized snacks for your augmented world.

And on Instagram, you’ll get a bit of a behind-the-scenes look at Layar, as we post photos and snapshots from the office here in Amsterdam. We’ll also share other interesting images we might find around the web, but for the most part, Instagram will be your portal into what happens at this fun-loving Holland-based startup. We think you’ll enjoy it, so come join the Instagram fun and tag your photos or Layar screenshots with #layar and we’ll check ‘em out!

Of course you can still find us at our usual online stomping grounds: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, SlideShare and MeetUp. Is there anywhere else you would like to see a Layar presence? Let us know in the comments below, or drop us a note on Twitter or Facebook, or even Tumblr!

Resistance is futile; the best you can hope for is survival.

These menacing extraterrestrials are highly-intelligent and have made their presence invisible to the naked eye. In order to view the threat, you must engage the Battle: Los Angeles layer through your mobile phone.

Once you launch the layer, you’ll see alien commanders and battle drones, but there are also alien command centers attacking US capitols and landmarks. If you see one, take a screenshot and share it on Twitter or Facebook to warn others.

… Ok, so there isn’t really a threat in “physical reality,” but there is a very serious alien invasion happening on Layar as a fun and interactive way to promote the film Battle: Los Angeles‘s Blu-ray/DVD/iTunes release on June 14.

The Battle: Los Angeles layer was a creative collaboration between Sony Pictures and Layar Partner Zehnder Communications, and it’s a great example of how to integrate Augmented Reality into a multi-platform digital marketing campaign.

The layer includes several multimedia options in the actions menu, allowing users to launch movie trailers and sneak previews, enter a sweepstakes to win a PS3, and purchase/pre-order the movie on Amazon.

It also highlights some Layar 5.0 features, including social sharing of screenshots, high-quality 3D models and both locative and dynamically generated POIs (aliens and droids appear near you no matter where you are, but command centers are only visible at specific locations, like over the White House, for example).

Check out this ultra cool promo video highlighting the Layar integration:

For more ways to survive the alien invasion (and possibly win prizes in the process), visit the Battle: Los Angeles website, “like” its Facebook page or follow @BattleLA on Twitter.