Organic and geometric, the 11 large light fixtures that illuminate the new Podium sports complex in Spokane dynamically shift light and ambience throughout the day and night. Washington State University architecture professor Taiji Miyasaka and Seattle artist and engineer Clayton Binkley collaborated to create the installation, titled “Chromasphere.” They used reclaimed western redcedar, cut the planks into regular hexagons to be stacked spirally, then hung the fixtures in three clusters. The largest fixture measures 12 feet tall by 9 feet in diameter. The project was commissioned by the Spokane Public Facilities District and administered by Spokane Arts for the new sports facility.
The installation, which resembles pinecones, has interiors painted with a plaster made from recycled drywall waste that Miyasaka researches with David Drake at WSU. Miyasaka and Binkley designed the multicolored lights to adapt and express a different feeling as daylight shifts.
“Chromasphere,” light fixture sculpture that illuminate the new Podium sports complex in Spokane—by WSU architecture professor Taiji Miyasaka and Seattle artist and engineer Clayton Binkley (Photo Bruce Andre)