“We’re drawing from the works of James Turrell and Olafur Eliasson in our intention to create a space that would deal with many attributes of light, whether you’re talking about diffracting light through a prism or gathering it into one of the oasis elements,” says Johnson.
     Prismatic rays of light are created once the sun shines through pieces of glass embedded within the net of solar cells and the light is split into its many colors. Elsewhere, sunshine is filtered to provide havens of shade for visitors beneath the canopy, while a wind scoop on the north side of the structure pulls in passive breezes. Logan explains that all of this was conceived for the purpose of highlighting elements that often go unnoticed – whether light, shade, or air currents – and giving them “a kind of presence on the site.”
     The first installation is designed with the Land Art Generator Initiative’s #2 location in mind – between the sandy Saadiyat and Yas Islands on the Abu Dhabi coast. Because “Prism Cloud” is viewed as a modular structure, it can theoretically be implemented in a variety of locations and is completely scalable to each of them. So while the initial setup would generate an estimated 192,000 kilowatt-hours (enough to power 25 average American homes for a year), further energy could be harnessed by adding arrays.
     Whether the Abu Dhabi model ever takes physical form will depend on the results of the competition. PLANET previously covered the “Light Sanctuary” submission by New York’s Decker Yeadon firm. We’ll let you know how things turn out when a winner is announced next month at the 2011 World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi. Who knows, a pot of gold might just be found at the end of “Prism Cloud’s” rainbow.