Reaching for the sky
James Turrell’s Skyspaces are world-famous and have to power to change our perception. In the angular “Twilight Epiphany” in Houston or in the curvaceous “The Third Breath” in Unna, anyone within these Skyspaces experiences a change of perception during twilight. The sky becomes a color panel, part of the space. Gazing upward becomes a meditative act.
Turning the sky into a ceiling fresco
“Unconventional wisdom” is the motto of Rice University in Houston, Texas. And James Turrell’s new Skyspace is certainly nothing like conventional light art. The step from the enclosed cupola to the open trapeze with an area of almost 500 m² presented feno with a new challenge. The shell between sunlight and artificial light has been removed here more effectively than ever before. Skyspace is a museum of light without an entrance, and the pictures hang on the sky. At twilight the LED luminaires with their specially programmed controllers create a double sky that can be seen from far away, creating a magical and attractive sight. Inside the work of art, perception is reduced to the famous “Skyspace effect”.
Visitors are between two worlds here, and not just from an architectural point of view. Under the seemingly weightless roof the music students at the university have moved into an exclusive sound laboratory. This is where music is composed that complements the light. feno’s LED luminaires act here as instruments of light. Sometimes flowing and powerful, sometimes subtle and sublime, but always in motion. Light and sound blend together, and the recipient (it is difficult to talk about viewers or listeners) can witness a unique artistic performance.
Project: Skyspace Houston
Contractor: Rice University, Houston, Texas
Architects: Thomas Phifer and Partners, New York/USA
Light art: James Turrell, Flagstaff, Arizona
Electrical Planning: CAPP ELECTRIC CO. INC., Houston/USA
Photograph credits: Florian Holzherr
