PRESS RELEASES

Ramatic Glass Art Wall Provides Innovative New Focal Point In Downtown Seattle

12/4/2002

(SEATTLE, WASHINGTON) - Rising a full seven stories over its 3rd Avenue entrance, the new IDX Tower features a kinetic glass art wall providing a striking and ever-changing visual experience. Designed by James Carpenter Design Associates, the wall is comprised of 56 5’x7’ panes of clear glass suspended by a high-tension, stainless steel, cable- grid system which allows for slight movement in this section of the façade. As the wall moves, and as the outside light changes, vertical and horizontal prismatic colored and acid-etched glass fins create a unique display of light and color in the building lobby. This is only the second time a wall system like this has been used in the United States, and is the first installation to incorporate dichroic glass fins along with the cable-net system.

"Seattle has long been a center of glass art and we wanted to provide a new variation on that great tradition," said Hines Vice President Rob Hollister. "Jamie Carpenter’s wall constantly changes throughout the day and night, creating a unique atmosphere for tenants and visitors. There simply isn’t another space like this in Seattle."

The primary focus of the artist and his studio is the exploration of the natural phenomena of light in transmission, reflection and refraction as they influence architecture. Their work seeks to control light as it affects spatial and temporal boundaries, allowing the expression of structure to give form to the phenomenon of light.

Among the works of James Carpenter Design Associates are the Lichthof façade and roof of the German Foreign Ministry Building in Berlin, Germany; the glass roof and wall in the atrium at Columbus Centre in New York; and the lens ceiling in the Special Proceeding Courtroom of the Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Phoenix.