Case Study/Installation

The Only WayOut Is In

Overview


A tunnel of rainbow arches set against the open desert. Step inside and the horizon falls away, because the only way out is in.

StudioCosmic Chromatics
TypeWalk-through installation
ScopeDesign & fabrication
PaletteThe full spectrum

The Design

Each arch carries a single hue, so walking the tunnel becomes a walk through the spectrum. We modeled the piece at golden hour to see how light would move through the color before anything was built.

Rendering of the rainbow arch tunnel at sunset, angled view
Rendering, three-quarter view
Rendering of the rainbow arch tunnel at sunset, straight on
Rendering, looking in
A box of hardware for the installation
Hardware, before the build

Fabrication

Large-scale work starts small. Before the spectrum stood up in the desert, it was a box of hardware: counted, sorted and ready.

Engineering and color move together in our shop. The structure has to disappear so the light can take over.

A bright line to follow when the horizon disappears.The Only Way Out Is In

On Site

Then the weather arrived. Dust swallowed the desert, and the arches held their color, a passage you could still find when everything else went white.

Looking into the arch tunnel during a dust storm
Looking in
A cyclist riding through the rainbow arches in the dust
Passing through

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