A lustrous, dynamic anodized aluminium and LED light installation titled Solaris adorns the gateway to luxury-fashion purveyor Moncler’s flagship store at Madison Avenue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Designed by Paris-based Bardula Studio and the French interior design firm Gilles & Boissier, this installation draws passer-by with its lustrous golden lights reflected on gold anodized aluminium.
Bardula, a Belgian artist with gold- and silversmith training, creates dynamic artworks made from mostly metal, mirrors, and LEDs in collaboration with her architect husband. Earlier, Gilles had worked with the studio in 2015 to create a series of light-infused volumetric sculptures for New York’s Baccarat Hotel.
The couple team used a spherical form as a starting point for the project. “We wanted to work off of the image of the sun as the heart of the solar system,” Bardula says. The concept was to create a orbit like impression out of a range of metal fins, where customers could have a feel of entering or immersing themselves into the center of the Moncler universe.
The aluminium fins were cut with a CNC water jet machine in France and installed on-site. For the golden hue, the artists used golden-tinged anodized aluminium. The handcrafted electrochemical process lends a craftlike feel to the fins, giving each piece a slightly different shade and enriching the overall lustrous effect.
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To simulate the magnetism of the sun, LED fixtures of about 13-foot height were placed behind each of the total 24 blades on each side, and controlled to shift colour temperature every six seconds, progressing through the full range of white light to form a gradient effect.
Due to this surreal light effect, “Solaris” offers a spatial experience that attracts a visitor into Gilles & Boissier’s interior, which leads to the right of the main corridor, into a series of sumptuous, interconnected rooms that display of their products.
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