Nangang Exhibition Center Taipei

transit

Foyer of the Nangang Exhibition Center (Exhibition Hall), Taipei, Taiwan

• 4.352 hand-blown hollow glass spheres, 10 cm in diameter
• fitted with LEDs
• 80.30 x 6.50 x 4.20 m
• Curator: ARTFIELD, Taipei

4,352 translucent blue hollow glass spheres, each 10 cm in diameter, are suspended from the ceiling by 0.5 mm thick wire cables, forming a structure that will appear different from every viewing angle. The shape, complexity, and size of the suspended sculpture change with the viewer's movement.

The atrium of the trade center is a place of movement and encounter. The entrance foyer serves as a transit passage and information hub before entering the actual exhibition halls. It serves as a sensory prelude to a trade fair visit. The word "transit" means "passage" or "entry" and becomes a symbol for the building's function. On the one hand, it addresses the foyer as a place of movement, and on the other hand, it represents trade. In astrology, "transit" signifies an aspect of a moving celestial body to another, much like the form of the planned sculpture.

We translated the expansive sculpture, which mathematically develops from the movement of two circles relative to each other, into points (glass spheres). These were individually fitted with LEDs. The light sources are not intended to replace the room's lighting, but rather to illuminate the sculpture from within, making it visible from the outside, especially at night.
Although the object is constructed purely mathematically, its lightness, transparency, delicate color, and changing appearance under different lighting conditions, as well as the viewer's movement within the space, give it a strong physical component. The physical experience of moving within the work is of fundamental importance.

"transit" playfully revolves around the theme of trade. With our work, we want to sensually express a positive, future-oriented feeling of exchange and resonate positively with the thoughts of visitors.

Heike Weber and Walter Eul, 2019

More artworks with glas

A floating sculpture made of hollow glass spheres that connects three storeys up to the glass roof in the form of an arch. In a two-day workshop by children from all Bielefeld schools, the balls were marked with mirror pens in the Bielefeld football stadium - "auf der Alm".

For the foyer at the DKFZ, we have transformed an expansive three-dimensional body into points, which develops from the movement of two circles in relation to each other and whose orbit forms the form.