Cumulus

2015
Jamestown, North Dakota

Cumulus is a colorful sculptural pavilion that captures the imagination while serving as a focal point for the Jamestown Art Park. Inspired by the expansive North Dakota sky, the pavilion consists of a hovering canopy of colored panels that frames a semi-enclosed space for performances, community activities, and informal day-to-day use. 

Cumulus consists of a cloud-like mass of powder-coated steel panels, supported on four slender columns. A wooden platform anchors the pavilion and provides an elevated stage for performances. The canopy’s form evokes the cumulus cloud formation while also referencing the contemporary paradigm of the data-rich “cloud.” Its coloration is distributed using an algorithm that translates environmental data from wind maps into the three-dimensional canopy whose rectilinear shape references a map of North Dakota. The assemblage of panels filter sunlight during the day while providing shade for the performance space and creating dynamic shadow patterns as the sun moves across the sky. The colorful panels glimmer in natural light during the day, and distributed LED lighting concealed within the canopy illuminate the cloud during evenings with a soft glow.

Project Credits: 
Futures North: Daniel Dean, John Kim, Adam Marcus, Molly Reichert