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New Public Art Glass Installation at Michigan State University

I’m pleased to share a new public art glass installation that I created for Michigan State University’s remarkable new Bio Engineering Facility.

Inspired by the color patterns in DNA mapping, this piece spans both sides of the building’s central grand staircase, complementing the sleek double helix-inspired design by the architects at Integrated Design Solutions (Troy, MI). The project involved nearly 200 tempered and laminated glass panels suspended on tensioned cables that extend over four stories high from the roof structure to first floor. Fabricated by GlasPro (Santa Fe Springs, CA), each glass panel is 21” x 30” x ½” with holes drilled to accept custom hardware. The geometric suspension of the panels in the space references the way DNA data often is expressed using grids of color (more about DNA as inspiration here). Drawing on the basic palette of colors offered by Vanceva Color Interlayers, I combined up to four layers of color to create a spectrum of more than 40 colors.

In determining how the panels connect, I found inspiration in Eileen Gray’s Screen, an iconic example of early modernist design from 1922, in which several horizontal rows of lacquered wooden panels hinge around thin vertical metal rods. I’ve always wanted to create something based on that structure, and this project offered the perfect opportunity. Translating aspects of Gray’s design to a large-scale glass installation imbues the piece with a sense of timeless elegance, a seamless blending of the classic with the contemporary.

For more views of this piece, please visit the project page.