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.

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. 

That has now changed with the permanent installation by the California artist known for his large scale, light-based projects illuminating Coachella's fields and your instagram feeds. 

Smith drew his design, composed of shifting gradients and moving planes of light, from the two buildings; inspired by the modular white concrete of Yamasaki’s 1962 skyscraper and the mosaic of color within the 1929 Guardian Building, he created the unique color program around this context. 

Adding a loop of colors and a revived interest to the city's skyline, the work, Detroit Skyrbidge is an example of "how underutilized spaces can be reimagined for the benefit of the public," says the owner of Library Street Collective, which conceptualized and produced the project. 

"By day, the Skybridge will continue to be seen as its historical self within the architecture and massing of Downtown. But by night," says Smith, "it will become a beacon for the beauty, creativity, and innovation of Detroit."