The Skyspace Lech is a walk-in art installation by James Turrell in Tannegg/Oberlech in Vorarlberg (Austria).
In 2014, James Turrell conceptualised the Skyspace Lech design specifically for this location to make the skyspace integrate itself in the landscape seamlessly. It opened to public in September 2018. [1] [2]
The Skyspace Lech is located in Tannegg in Vorarlberg, the westernmost federal state of Austria, at an altitude of 1.780 m. It is in walking distance from Oberlech at the "Alpe Tannegg", above the mountain station of the gondola Schloßkopfbahn. [3]
The American light artist James Turrell is the original designer of the so-called "skyspace". A skyspace is an enclosed space which is open to the sky through a large hole in the ceiling or dome. It usually is large enough for about 15 people.
The Skyspace Lech is largely underground. A 15 m long tunnel gives access to the oval main room "Sensing Room", which measures 6 m by 9 m. It is 5.20 m high and equipped with a bench and offers space for around 30 visitors. The oval opening in the ceiling has a dynamic dome that can be moved and provides different perceptual effects depending on the weather and the incidence of light (e.g., colour-changing light at the walls). Three light installations also create variable color moods. [4] [5]
The bookable program starts 50 minutes before sunrise or at sunset. [6] The light performances last for about 45 minutes during which visitors are able to spot the Biberkopf summit and the village Bürstegg on one side and on the other the Omeshorn. [7]
The project was designed and built in cooperation with Vorarlberg companies (lighting technology: Zumtobel, architecture: Baumschlager Eberle). [8] The Skyspace Lech cost around 1.5 million euros. [9]
Vorarlberg is the westernmost state of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the second-highest population density. It borders three countries: Germany, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. The only Austrian state that shares a border with Vorarlberg is Tyrol, to the east.
The Bregenzerwald is one of the main regions in the state of Vorarlberg (Austria). It overlaps, but is not coterminous with, the Bregenz Forest Mountains, which belong to a range of the Northern Limestone Alps, specifically the northern flysch zone. It is the drainage basin of the Bregenzer Ach river.
Montafon is a 39 km long valley in the westernmost Austrian federal state of Vorarlberg.
The Zumtobel Group is an Austrian company specialising in lighting headquartered in Dornbirn. Zumtobel engages in the development, production and sales of lighting, luminaires, lighting management and lighting components for indoor and outdoor applications. The company is a European market leader for professional lighting systems and the number two for lighting components in Europe.
Au is a town in the Bregenz Forest in Vorarlberg (Austria).
James Turrell is an American artist known for his work within the Light and Space movement. Much of Turrell's career has been devoted to a still-unfinished work, Roden Crater, a natural cinder cone crater located outside Flagstaff, Arizona, that he is turning into a massive naked-eye observatory; and for his series of skyspaces, enclosed spaces that frame the sky.
Zürs is one of the most renowned winter sports resorts in the Alps. Located in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg, almost directly on the border to North Tyrol, near the Flexenpass, Zürs is part of the Arlberg region, which also includes Lech, Oberlech, Zug, and Stubenbach. This region offers 87 ski-lifts, 200 kilometers of deep snow slopes and 305 km of ski runs. It has several hotels and guest houses, with a total of over 1,700 beds. It is popular for its downhill skiing, but also for its backcountry skiing and its Olympic ski championships. About four kilometers north of Zürs is Lech am Arlberg, another ski resort which is linked to Zürs not only via road, but also via ski lifts and pistes.
Lech am Arlberg is a mountain village and an exclusive ski resort in the Bludenz district in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg, on the banks of the river Lech.
Feldkirch is a town in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg, bordering on Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is the administrative centre of the Feldkirch district. After Dornbirn, it is the second most populous town in Vorarlberg. The westernmost point in Austria lies in Feldkirch on the river Rhine, at the tripoint between Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein.
A skyspace is an architectural design in which a room, which is painted in a neutral color has a large hole in its ceiling which opens directly to the sky. The room, whose perimeter has benches, allows observers to look at the sky in such a way as though it were framed. LED lights which surround the hole can change colors to affect the viewer's perception of the sky.
The Kunsthaus Bregenz (KUB) presents temporary exhibitions of international contemporary art in Bregenz, Vorarlberg (Austria).
The Museum SAN is located in Oak Valley, in the mountains of Wonju, South Korea. It was designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando and is under the administration of the Hansol Cultural Foundation. Ando said he designed the museum to express gratitude for the architecture and its beautiful natural environment. The museum, which is composed of a welcome center, flower garden, water garden, meditation hall, stone garden, main building, and James Turrell exhibition hall, focuses on the interaction of art and nature. Other facilities include a print shop, cafe, and museum shop.
Live Oak Friends Meeting House is a Quaker meeting house located at 1318 West 26th Street in the Heights area of Houston, Texas, United States. The meeting house, which was completed in December 2000, was designed and built to house the Live Oak Friends Meeting, which was formed in 1954. The building features a permanent installation by the artist James Turrell, known as the Skyspace or One Accord. It has been described as an architectural "idealization of Quaker testimonies like peace and equality."
The Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting is a monthly meeting (congregation) of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). First meeting in 1924, they were the first "United" monthly meeting, reconciling Philadelphia Quakers after the Hicksite/Orthodox schism of 1827. The original Meeting House, built in 1931, was located at 100 E. Mermaid Lane in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was replaced in 2012-2013 by the current meeting house, located at 20 E. Mermaid Lane, which incorporates a Skyspace designed by Quaker light artist James Turrell, the second such installation to be incorporated into a working religious space. The new Quaker meeting house is the first to be built in Philadelphia in eighty years.
The Ski Arlberg ski area is situated in the Arlberg massif in the states of Vorarlberg and Tyrol (Austria).
Stuben am Arlberg is a winter sports resort in the town of Klösterle in the westernmost Austrian province of Vorarlberg. It is located at an altitude of 1,410 meters and had 90 inhabitants.
The White Ring is a ski circuit and ski race in the area of Lech am Arlberg, Vorarlberg (Austria). It is located in the Ski Arlberg ski resort. With 22 km, it is the longest ski round trip in the world. It features 5,500 m of altitude difference. The circuit comprises 5 downhill runs, 6 lifts, piste ascents and a cross-country ski run.
The SBX World Cup Montafon is a snowboard competition that takes place annually in Montafon in Vorarlberg (Austria) as part of the FIS Snowboard World Cup.
The Philosophicum Lech is a philosophical symposium in Lech am Arlberg in Vorarlberg (Austria). It has been established for the philosophical, cultural and social science reflection, discussion and encounter.