Zumtobel realises James Turrell’s Skyspace “Sustenance 2024” at the University Children’s Hospital Zurich

• Light as part of healing architecture in James Turrell’s new Skyspace light space at the University Children’s Hospital Zurich
• Interplay of art, technology, and architecture in the children’s hospital
• Continuation of the long-standing collaboration between light artist James Turrell and Zumtobel  

With the Skyspace “Sustenance 2024,” American light artist James Turrell has created an extraordinary light space at the University Children’s Hospital Zurich, Switzerland, that combines art, space, and light into a unique experience. Turrell refers to Skyspace as observation rooms in which natural light flows through openings in the ceiling and, in combination with LED lighting, creates fascinating effects within the space.

The Skyspace “Sustenance 2024” is intended for patients and their families as well as for staff. After a disturbing conversation, a delicate procedure or a difficult diagnosis, a visit to the Skyspace provides a welcome distraction. The contemplative perception of light and sky invites visitors to pause and meditate.

The ellipsoid, eight-metre-high Skyspace in the heart of the University Children’s Hospital Zurich stretches like a dome vault over two floors. The walls taper upwards to form an elliptical light inlet. The space is illuminated by a precisely coordinated LED lighting system. 433 high-performance lights distributed across three light rings choreograph unique colour gradients. The LEDs also illuminate the uppermost diffuser in the roof structure, which in turn serves as a reflective medium and pushes human perception to its limits by contrasting the dark floor and the roof opening.

The Skyspace “Sustenance 2024” thus fits seamlessly into the concept of the Zurich Children’s Hospital, which focuses on healing architecture: rooms positively support healing through art, natural materials, and human-centred lighting. As general planner and lighting partner, Zumtobel was responsible for the technical implementation of the project and contributed its expertise from many years of collaborating with James Turrell. “This work of art is the most elaborate and best we have ever created,” says Zumtobel project manager Jürgen Häcker. As project manager on site, he coordinated all the trades.

In addition to fire protection and earthquake safety, the Skyspace “Sustenance 2024” had to overcome a very special challenge: the children’s hospital’s helipad is in the immediate vicinity. A three-ton dome on rails slides over the art space whenever a rescue helicopter approaches – as well as in rain, snow, or strong winds. When the roof is closed, it creates an effect of dimensionlessness. The shell that closes the dome is illuminated by another ring of light in such a way that the lighting effect remains extraordinary even when the dome is closed.

The Skyspace consists of individual, precise 3D elements that form this unique space. The floor and benches, made of granite slabs weighing up to 120 kilograms, were cut with millimetre precision to create a highly accurate joint pattern. The whole structure is held in place by an invisible steel framework that has been mounted in such a way that it is both absolutely stable and movable.

With a passion for light and a deep understanding of James Turrell’s highly sophisticated light art, Zumtobel Licht AG has put its heart and soul into this unique task. The magnificent, solution-oriented external team coordinated by Zumtobel Licht AG also deserves special mention.

A radiant partnership

The long-standing partnership between Zumtobel, led by Herbert Resch, the Zumtobel family, and James Turrell has already produced several unique pieces. In 2018, Zumtobel was the lighting partner for Turrell’s exhibition “The Substance of Light” at the Frieder Burda Museum in Baden-Baden, Germany. And in 2015, he designed the Zumtobel Group’s annual report under the title “Extraordinary Ideas – Realized.” With the new light room at the Children’s Hospital in Zurich, this creative collaboration, which combines art and social responsibility, has reached a new high point.

“We have been working closely and trustingly with James Turrell for many years. His artistic standards inspire us time and again to break new ground in our approach to light. We are particularly proud to have been able to realize this unique project at the University Children’s Hospital in Zurich – because here, art and lighting contribute to healing and give hope,” says Isabel Zumtobel, Director of Arts & Culture at the Zumtobel Group.