Soundwave Plaza by Penda is a landscape sculpture in Xiangyang, China, which consists of more than 500 perforated, vibrantly coloured steel fins varying in height. The sculpture marks the entrance gate to the largest Myrtle Tree Garden in Asia. Music, Rhythm and Dance in combination with the surrounding Landscape were the main parameters shaping ‘the Soundwave’.
Each of the Fins are perforated towards the top and contain stripes of LEDs. The orchestra of 500 fins produce a lighting, which is connected to the plaza’s sound system and reacts in a very direct way to the movement on the plaza. The louder the music, the more vivid the movement, the brighter the illumination on the plaza.
In a vertical way, the 500 fins are slicing the surrounding and, in combination with the vibrantly coloured fins, the sculpture creates a visual landmark for the area. Four different shades of Purple, the tone of the Myrtle Tree, were applied as a colouring scheme.
The field of fins give the visitors a sense of being surrounded by tree trunks, strolling through the woods, being disoriented for a moment, but also able to peek through some openings between the fins to be guided further. Like walking through a forest, the spaces in-between the fins are varying from narrow footpaths to wider clearing-like areas, giving the visitors and local dance-groups an opportunity to vitalise the sculpture during day and night.
The plaza can be seen as a transitional space between the city and the landscape. Looking at the sculpture from further away, it punctures a skyline-like image of a city onto the horizon, but when entering the square, the colour and light, invite the visitors in a sensual way into the natural landscape of the Myrtle Tree Garden.
Images courtesy of Xia Zhi
Discover: www.home-of-penda.com
