Luminarium - Albesila

Hours: 9:30 AM – 6 PM
Admission: $5 day-of standby admission, $15 advance reserved time
Children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult (maximum 4 children per adult).
Children 2 years and younger will be admitted free of charge

Volunteers needed: 
Learn how you can help guests experience this special event

From the Guggenheim in Spain to the Sydney Opera House in Australia, the monumental and interactive walk-in sculptures of Architects of Air and designed by Alan Parkinson, have astounded audiences across the globe. Architects of Air has toured the luminaria since 1992 and visited 43 countries.

The luminarium offers a dazzling maze of winding paths and soaring domes where Islamic architecture, Archimedean solids and Gothic cathedrals meld into an inspiring monument to the beauty of light and colour, and where visitors can happily loose themselves.

The installation awakens all the senses, creating a sense of wonder and enchantment for all ages.

Visitors are transported and immersed into an amazing world of light and subtle and saturated hues, for a unique sensory experience, and brings visual art in places where you wouldn’t expect it.

It is a paradox that such a stimulating environment can simultaneously be so calming and comforting. Many people find a luminarium a place for rest or meditation.

ALBESILA (the new luminarium) represents a complete departure from how we had approached the design of previous luminaria. Previously luminaria aimed to encourage the visitors to lose themselves by creating winding paths and short sightlines whereas for Albesila we used a rectilinear grid ground plan to give long sightlines and clear left/ right parameters. We soon found that too unexciting and have completely revised the layout to restore the mystery and sense of discovery.

And the paths are different too, they’re no longer the curving tunnels but airy, interconnected, 5 meter high ovoid domes. 27 such domes make Albesila feel more voluminous despite occupying a similar ground area to its predecessors.

Of the 27 egg-shaped domes 4 eggs provide the base to the most imposing tree form and 10 eggs are opaque silver where, looking upward, one discovers radiant geometric traceries inspired by Islamic art.

The remaining 13 eggs provide a complete immersion in color. This sensory intensity reaches a peak in the magnificent Main Dome where an intricate weave of illuminated seams creates a constellation of stars spiraling upward to the heavens.

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