KINETIC OBELISK

Year: 2020

Location: Silicon Valley, California

Team: Guvenc Ozel

Kinetic Obelisk is a robotic transforming monument that embodies the 21st Century ideal of harmony between humans and nature through technology. Slowly dancing in the San Jose skyline, the structure creates spectacular imagery never before seen in public spaces. Made out of durable and lightweight carbon fiber and adorned with an LED bezel, the motion and embedded lighting of the loops are be controlled by a computational system that processes information about weather, wind, solar position, light pollution, bird migration patterns, seismic data and other environmental factors. The silhouette of the loops are inspired by the imagery of human chromosomes as viewed through an electron microscope. As the loops move in the San Jose skyline, they will be creating combinations that represent the pairings in the human genome. The landscaping pattern on the plaza consisting of pavers, planters, benches, pools and lights designed as an accurate graphic abstraction of the the Human Genome Project.