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07MAY 2012

Rainbow Gateway – Digital Fabrication / Tonkin Liu

Posted in Architecture - Landscape by FORMAKERS

Burnley was the first place in the UK to record its rainfall.

Pivotal to its industrial past, the rain filled the rivers, the rivers powered the first mills, the moist air kept the cotton supple for weaving.

After the decline of the mills, the Burnley region developed into a centre for precision engineering and advanced manufacturing.

Three gateways welcome people from three directions, where three routes converge.

The rain drums on the thin steel roof as it channels into the ground, while 133 prisms capture sunlight and array it in a full colour spectrum on the ground.

At night, the prisms are lit from below, casting rainbows into the mist. The bow of a rainbow is the most simple and dynamic natural geometry, structurally efficient due to its curvature.

The pioneering structural principles of Shell Lace now sit in front of the college in Burnley, where future designers, engineers, and entrepreneurs are nurtured.

After the rain comes the rainbow, a fitting symbol for optimism, regeneration and learning in Burnley.

Design team:
Architects Tonkin Liu
Client Burnley Borough Council
Location Burnley, UK
Budget £ 121,000
Structural Engineer Ed Clarke, Arup
Fabrication Mike Smith Studio
Completion December 2011
Exhibitions Royal Academy

Status:
Completed

Website (references):
http://www.tonkinliu.co.uk/projects/rain-bow-gate/

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