Jenny Sabin's “Lumen” casts a web of light, shadow, and mist over the MoMA PS1 courtyard

Webbed throughout the MoMA PS1 courtyard, “Lumen” is an interactive and immersive spectacle that Ithaca-based designer Jenny Sabin created after she won the 2017 Young Architects' Program competition in February.

The installation comprises two large-scale canopies made from over 1 million yards of digitally knitted and robotically woven fiber, with 1,500 cellular components and 250 hanging tubular structures that visitors can interact with. The responsive textile evolves over the course of the day as well. It displays subtle color and naturally creates playful patterns of light and shadow during a sunny day. Plus, it's built with a misting system to keep visitors cool when they're within its proximity. At night, Lumen emits an inviting, glowing light. 

In designing Lumen, it's evident that Jenny Sabin drew inspiration from biology as well as materials science and mathematics — topics that she has long engaged with in her work. “[A]rchitecture and architects have had connections and relationships with nature and the sciences throughout our entire history,“ Jenny Sabin said in an interview on Archinect, Bustler's sister site, last month. 

Lumen will be on display until September 4. Check out some photos of the project below.

All photos courtesy of MoMA PS1.