Olafur Eliasson: Your Rainbow Panorama

June 06, 2011 /

ARoS
Aarhus, Denmark
On view: May 28, 2011 - May 28, 2011

Olafur Eliasson's, "Your rainbow panorama," is a circular, panoramic walkway, in all the colors of the rainbow, constructed on the roof of the cubic museum building designed by schmidt hammer lassen.

The ARoS building was inspired by Dante's "Divine Comedy," the nine circles of Hell and the journey up from the mountain of Purgatory, ending in perfection in Paradise. The permanent installation of "Your rainbow panorama" on the roof represents the completion of the building's idea.

The 150 meter long, circular panoramic walkway, measuring 52 meters in diameter, is supported by 12 columns resting on the weight-bearing steel construction beneath the terrace deck.

The glass in "Your rainbow panorama" consists of 2 x 12 mm laminated glass composed of up to 6 colored sheets creating the individual shades. For the sake of personal safety, the two layers of glass have been heat-reinforced and laminated together around the colored sheets.

Beneath the "floating" work of art the 1,500 square meter roof surface is covered with sturdy timber, making the roof a unique recreational area and viewing platform some fifty meters about street level.

Image © 2006 - 2011 Olafur EliassonDuring the hours of darkness, "Your rainbow panorama" is illuminated by means of lamps in the floor.

Photo: Ole Hein Pedersen© 2006 - 2011 Olafur Eliasson

Photo: Ole Hein Pedersen© 2006 - 2011 Olafur Eliasson

There is space for 290 visitors at one time on the roof terrace, and 150 in "Your rainbow panorama."

Your rainbow panorama" establishes a dialogue with the existing architecture and reinforces what was already there, that is to say the view across the city. I have created a space that can almost be said to erase the boundary between inside and outside - a place where you become a little uncertain as to whether you have stepped into a work of art or into part of the museum. This uncertainty is important to me, as it encourages people to think and sense beyond the limits within which they are accustomed to function./Olafur Eliasson

Drawing courtesy ARoS