Sky Vortex is a site-specific sculpture that connects participants to the celestial sphere. Its geometry and material expression create a defacto lens that invites the everchanging natural atmospheric dynamics of the sky into the central courtyard of Vortex House, a building conceived by Kulapat Yantrasast / wHY Architecture. Composed of mirror-finish stainless steel, Sky Vortex brings the sky’s reflection onto the ground plane. The physical sculpture becomes a medium of light, dematerializing the physical environment. Sky Vortex creates an ever-evolving natural event – a sensory garden to amplify the experience of the sky in its manifold expression.
The studio’s work in the built environment explores a hybridization of art and architecture to amplify the experience of self and site. In collaboration with architects, Studio Girardoni’s method advocates for site-specific art to underpin the architectural design process. Their approach leans on the idea of “art before architecture.” The Girardonis focus on formulating a conceptual art program in which the art magnifies the sensory activation of the site and architecture. Compressing art and the built environment creates opportunities to blend the physical and the ephemeral, which amplifies visitors’, residents’, and participants’ experience of place.
The Girardonis’ art-architecture collaborations have ranged from master planning site-specific art programs in large projects to in-situ installations in residential work. They have worked with world-renowned architects such as Tom Kundig, EYRC, Rick Joy, and Kulapat Yantrasast/wHY, amongst others.
