"Look at that. Listen to this."

At one point or another, every architect stumbles across a space or project that literally sends them “the chills”. While it is much more rewarding to encounter these spaces in reality,allowing for full sensory experience, I occasionally discover a design online in my project research that puts my day on pause. In these moments, I often become tempted to check on flights and account balances for availability to visit. For the past few years, that place has been Aarhus, Denmark, home my favorite Olafur Eliasson project. “Your Rainbow Panorama” is a colorful halo that sits atop the ARoS Art Museum, providing a vibrant lens to the city that transforms with movement through the ring and with the changing of sunlight through the day. It is a compass and an orientation tool, but more effectively, a work of art. While I have not experienced this space in person, it has nonetheless had considerable impact on me.

Each designer has his or her own ritual of connecting with the inner-self, finding a moment of energy to inspire the design challenges at hand. Some listen to music, take a walk, or do some yoga, and some may compound many actions to wake their creative minds. Although I have many rituals for confronting a design project, there is one that is most special to me. As you might suspect, it has something to do with that colorful halo.

I often look back to Eliasson’s work to connect with my creative mind, as I find him to be one of the most innovative thinkers and designers of our time. Connecting spirituality with functionality, his work generates profound feedback - even for designers such as myself who have only been confronted by the work via digital capture. His work, specifically the project in Aarhus, has inspired one of my favorite methods of gearing up for a long day of designing.

I highly recommend watching “Your Rainbow Panorama” while listening to the song “Sound and Color” by Alabama Shakes, both attached below. I would recommend headphones and a personal screen. Thank you in advance for viewing, and I hope you enjoy these creative works.

Look at that.

Listen to this. (or queue your own songs).

#music #architecture