Client: Fort Worth Public Art

Overview

Concentric Harmony is a sensory play-maze that’s part birthday cake and part Mesoamerican step pyramid. It has discoverable sensory features that foster curiosity and unstructured play. There is no right or wrong way to play in this maze. While navigating the maze, which is a dimensional mandala, you will eventually discover the innermost circular chamber where each column is lined with polished, stainless steel mirror strips that create staccato, fun-house reflections in the round; real selfies that show you fully integrated into the park surroundings. The grouping and pairing of the hollow steel columns intentionally create rhythmic and tonal patterns for hands on discovery while circling the maze. The mirror strips on the top angles of each column flicker with reflected sunlight, causing the maze to sparkle at a distance, beckoning kids and adults from all corners of the park on a pilgrimage of discovery. These discoverable flickers, sounds, and patterns activate sensory experiences that quell anxiety, awaken our sense of wonder, and bring us back to our original place of knowing.
Concentric Harmony is comprised of 97painted steel tubes that vary in Height from 8ft -12ft, has a 24ft dia. and meets ADA accessibility standards.

Video Credit: Andy Lay Photography

Goals

Rosemont Park is well-loved, spacious neighborhood park surrounded by schools and homes. My goal was to use the input gathered from members of the neighborhood to create a colorful, sensory, play sculpture for all ages that would activate the southeast corner of this park. I was able to integrate Concentric Harmony into the park in a way that enhances the experience of all park users.

Additional Information

Concentric Harmony has discoverable sensory features for those who enter it, and also for those who are passing by at a distance. People on foot walk the perimeter of the park and cross the southwest corner of the park throughout the day. As the park is traversed, the columns of the maze, arranged in a radial pattern begin animating with flickering moiré patterns as one column passes over another in your field of vision. The Maze has a “coming and going” paint treatment. The adjacent sides of each column are painted with warm tones and cool tones. When approaching the Maze from the left, it appears to be painted in pink, orange and yellow, when you approach the maze from the right the maze appears to be painted aqua, blue and purple.