Archinect - News

A closer look at HAKUTEN's light installation [Prism], an Architecture MasterPrize winner

2021-12-08T16:51:00-05:00

The light and air art installation [Prism] by Japanese studio HAKUTEN was recently named as one of the “Best of the Best” winners of the 2021 Architecture MasterPrize.

Situated on an old military installation in Kanagawa Prefecture called Sarushima, the installation refracts light into a colorful array to create a map of the island’s coastal outline using its extant network of gun batteries as nodes that connect each ray of light in a dazzling display meant to evoke the memory of its past historic uses.

[Prism] © Kim Dong-Gyu

Visitors could immerse themselves in the light-saturated sand while taking in views of nearby Yokosuka City as they reflect on the physical space and temporal nature of the site.

According to the architects: “This work does not seek to glorify war. HAKUTEN simply believes that it is important to preserve memories of the past through various expressions of art and design that prevent them from being forgotten,” adding that they wish to “spr...

James Turrell's installation reopens at MoMA PS1 in August with an uninterrupted view

2019-08-05T13:48:00-04:00

After a six-month closure, James Turrell's site specific installation Meeting (1980-86/2016) reopens at MoMA PS1! Captivating audiences with his mesmerizing light installations, Turrell's piece was previously closed in January due to an unwanted construction scaffolding seen through the installation opening.

Problematic view temporarily obstructed by a construction crane

The Art Newspaper reminds us of Turrell's start to the piece. "Meeting was commissioned in 1976 by PS1’s founder Alanna Heiss for the museum’s opening exhibition and is the first skyspace work Turrell made in the US."

Many fans of Turrell will be excited to witness another one of his iconic works. According to the museum's site, "When the sunset lighting program falls outside of regular museum hours, MoMA PS1 hosts special after-hours viewings on Monday evenings. Be sure to get your tickets to experience Turrell's entrancing work.

Interested in designing public installations and art exhibitions? Here are 9 firms offering architectural job opportunities

2019-08-01T15:56:00-04:00

This week, Archinect has selected jobs with firms whose work focuses on creative and imaginative public installations and art exhibitions. Whether permanent or temporary, these spaces allow for experiences outside of people’s daily interactions through art and the built environment. Below are 9 firms located in Los Angeles, Brooklyn, and Manhattan looking to hire the right candidate to join their team.

Fluidity Designs Consultants seeks a Junior Designer
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Fluidity Design Consultants is a Los Angeles-based leader in water feature design and engineering. The firm collaborates with many of the world’s most respected architects, landscape architects, institutions and developers in the realization of creative and technically refined installations around the world, mostly in the public realm.Work will entail concept development, modeling, visualization, materials research, the exploration of architectural assemblies, and related efforts. Candidates must have profici...

The Arc de Triomphe is getting an Olafur Eliasson-designed light installation

2019-06-24T13:26:00-04:00

Olafur Eliasson has been commissioned to make a permanent lighting installation for the Arc de Triomphe, which is due to be inaugurated in 2020. Costing €3m, the project is being financed by the Fonds pour Paris, a foundation set up in 2015 by Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo to restore Parisian heritage and support contemporary art.

Eliasson's proposal is still under wraps, and details won't be available until later this summer or early fall, reports The Art Newspaper.

It will be a busy year for the iconic landmark on the Champs-Élysées, as artist Christo also announced to wrap the Arc de Triomphe in 2020.

Mies' Farnsworth House to be awash in gridded lasers for this year's Chicago Architecture Biennial

2019-06-18T13:55:00-04:00

In conjunction with the upcoming Chicago Architecture Biennial, Iker Gil and Luftwerk will present their collaborative light and sound installation at Mies van Der Rohe's Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois. Titled 'Geometry of Light,' the installation will cast red lasers onto the elements of the building to emphasize its openness while tracing its underlying geometric principles. Gil and Luftwerk recently unveiled a preview of the installation:

Amazing turnout last night for our Chicagoland Art + Design Community preview of "Geometry of Light", the @_luftwerk and Iker Gil collaboration that will be co-presented by @MiesGlassHouse and @MASContext October 11-13, 2019. Tickets at https://t.co/VVVyQ92CrL #geometryoflight pic.twitter.com/mX3mjdp6Ol
— Farnsworth House (@MiesGlassHouse) June 15, 2019 Scenes from the @_luftwerk @MASContext Geometry of Light preview at the @MiesGlassHouse last weekend. Check out the real deal Oct. 11-13 pic.twitter.com/NOuxEwEGJR
— Zach Mortice (@zachmortic...

'Detroit Skybridge' lights up abandoned walkway with work by contemporary artist Phillip K. Smith III

2018-09-14T14:47:00-04:00

The 100-foot-long skybridge connecting two of Detroit's most iconic buildings has been brought back to life with the colorful, site-specific work of Phillip K. Smith III, who has transformed the abandoned passageway into a floating bar of light hovering above the streets of downtown Detroit.

Phillip K. Smith III's Detroit Skybridge, 2018; Acrylic, aluminum, LED lighting, electronic components, unique color program; Photo by Lance Gerber. Courtesy of the artist and Library Street Collective.

Sandwiched between the Guardian Building and One Woodward, the 16th floor passing was constructed in the late 70s to allow employees of the Michigan Consolidated Gas company and the American Natural Resources Co.—which occupied the two buildings—to pass freely. When the American Natural Resource Co. relocated in the 90s, decreased usage led to the walkway's subsequent closure and it has since sat abandoned.

Phillip K. Smith III's Detroit Skybridge, 2018; Acrylic, aluminum, ...

Light artist Daan Roosegaarde gives 85-year-old Dutch dike a futuristic upgrade

2018-01-03T14:55:00-05:00

For the legendary, 32-km Afsluitsdijk dike's 85th birthday, the Dutch government commissioned creative designer and innovator Daan Roosegaarde to spruce things up and transform the famous Dutch causeway into something more than a flood protector and road link. Built in 1932 as part of the Netherlands' famed sea defenses, the dyke is one of the country's landmark engineering projects.

For Icoon Afsluitsdijk, as the initiative is called, Roosegaarde wanted to "enhance the innovative character of the legendary 32 kilometer Dutch dyke whilst highlighting its key functions: water protection & heritage, energy and mobility as an exemplary model of a smart landscape for today and tomorrow." Given a €13 million budget, Roosegaarde has turned the monumental site into a beautiful and sustainable art installation with three separate projects that celebrate the historical site and inspire the country towards an innovative future.

'Gates Of Light’ by Daan Roosegaarde

'Gates Of Light’ by Daan Roo...

33-story endangered species picture show

2015-08-06T19:02:00-04:00

According to the New York Times, the event cost around $1 million to produce and involved 40 stacked 20,000-lumen projectors on the roof of a building on West 31st Street that beamed 5K resolution video onto a space covering 33 floors — roughly 375 feet high and 186 feet wide.

The Empire State Building took a breather from being an icon last Saturday, and instead became the canvas for a series of projected images of endangered species and other trippy imagery. The event was part of "Projecting Change," an awareness-raising project thought up by noted National Geographic photographer Louie Psihoyos. The remarkable clarity and size of the images is due to the artistry of design firm Obscura Digital, who captivated a city of people used to being too sophisticated to unguardedly stare up in wonder. No word yet on the reaction of those city dwellers who, unaware of the show while occupying a penthouse and a questionable state of mind, looked out the window and saw giant animals gazing back at them.

8,000 Glowing Balloons Recreate the Berlin Wall

2014-11-07T14:53:00-05:00

The first blows to bring down the Berlin Wall were struck nearly 25 years ago to the day. This was after almost three decades of the concrete barricade cutting through the heart of Berlin and splitting the city in two. Today, Berlin is once again divided, this time by an 11-foot-tall wall of illuminated balloons. The Lichtgrenze (translation: “border of light”) will stretch for 10 miles along the same path as the original 96-mile structure.