Above Horizon Goldstein Skyspace, Los Angeles, California

From Archiplanet

	Above Horizon
Designer	Nicholson Architects, Santa Monica, California, USA , Architect
Location	Los Angeles, California, USA
Date	1998 to 2005
Building Type	poured in place reinforced concrete, stainless steel, and composite materials
Climate	naturally ventilated,radiant heated,and passive solar heating
Context	hillside construction
Architectural Style	modern
Builder	Ostermann Construction
Street Address
Notes	designed with artist James Turrell.

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Building Details

The Goldstein Skyspace also called “Above Horizon” is an art installation located on a steep slope in the Los Angeles area. The skyspace was designed by light artist, James Turrell, in collaboration with Architect, Duncan Nicholson. Originally James Goldstein conceived this art installation as collaboration between John Lautner and James Turrell, but Lautner passed away before the project came into fruition. The building includes a large aperature in the ceiling and an operable aperture in the wall that is a unique design element from other Turell Skyspaces. The second opening was designed by Turrell at the request of James Goldstein.

The Architect, Duncan Nicholson designed and developed the aperture cover to protect the interior finishes that were chosen for the built in seating. James Turrell specified that the aperture cover should be opaque as opposed to a glass skylight. Additionally the architect required that no visible tracks should be seen on the building from above and no visible seams or tracks be seen on the bottom of the cover while standing inside looking up through the aperture. The cover cantilevers 14 feet from the hidden operable machinery’s attachment points to fully cover the aperture. The construction for the cover was derived from the aircraft industry and would allow it to be light weight and inherently strong. A local aircraft manufacturer was acquired that could build a composite robust roof structure.

The construction of the building was poured in place reinforced concrete. This type of construction matches the owners existing building material of the residence on the property built by John Lautner in 1963 (Sheats Goldstein Residence, Los Angeles, California). The aircraft manufacturer started by taking a fiberglass and epoxy resin impression or casting of the top of the building surrounding the aperture since the cover would need to mate exactly with it when finished. A mold was then made from this impression which then produced another mold to be made in which the final covers’ form could be derived or cast from.

Two internal lateral members of the framework were constructed. Beginning with machined aluminum blocks at the attachment points then to the carbon fiber and epoxy resin framework to provide for the covers internal structure. Finally, the top surface of the cover was then constructed in a separate mold and attached to an assembly. The top surface was then painted as close to white as possible (and still be in color harmony with the building) so as to protect the cover from UV degradation.

The final product is unquestionably strong and able to resist all forces without difficulty and it is light weight at only 450 lbs. It is able to protect an area close to 200 sq. ft. Due to the extreme topographic location of the building on the site the cover was flown into place by helicopter to be installed [1].