Designed by Architect Christoph Ingenhoven at Ingenhoven Architects, Dusseldorf this impossing structure of glass and steel also houses the works of seven well known artists. Michael Beutler, Thomas Demand, Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset, Liam Gillick, Carsten Nicolai, Beat Streuli and Cerith Wyn Evans were all comissioned by Lufthansa to produce pieces reflecting both the building and the Lufthansa identity.

In 2006 I was contacted by Robert Smith at Aztec Modelmakers, Teddington, Middlesex to discuss the production of some neon tubes for a project that they were working on with the White Cube Gallery and the artist Cerith Wyn Evans. Robert came down to my workshop with Cerith's assistant and showed me thier 3D rendering of Cerith's design. The design itself was quite self explainitory, you're probably familiar with the inflight magazines found on most airplanes showing their flight destinations as large arcs across the globe; Cerith's idea was to reproduce all of Lufthansa'a flight paths around the globe in neon but remove the globe.

It was Aztec Modelmakers who were given the monumental job of designing the stainless steel structure which was to hold the neon tubes in place. With their considerable knowledge and understanding of engineering and metal work, Aztec produced a magnificent stainless steel frame following each of the lines of the neon and which itself is suspended from what might look to be the underside of a gigantic UFO. A work of art in itself, this huge structure caused some considerable problems as to how it was to be suspended within the glass atrium. Working closely with the architects and the engineers who constructed the building, this massive installation was eventually placed in pride of place giving motorway drivers a breif respite from thier daily grind.
You couldn't do that using LEDs.
In my opinion this an amazing and stunning piece of work. Absolutely fantastic, well done to all of you that must have sweated buckets to get this done. Bravo! Long live the light.
ReplyDeleteamazing, brilliant, well done!
ReplyDeleteThis was awesome. Such a good work that you have done. Thanks for sharing. Signage Chennai
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