The Air Garden for Bradley West Terminal of the Los Angeles International Airport, by design and fabrication studio Ball Nogues, aims to embody the qualities of light and space, unique to Los Angeles. It is without the beginning or the end, like the city itself, it doesn’t even have an inside or an outside, or a back or front. The Air Garden is designed as a serene moment which should be in contrast with the hectic action and movement within the airport space and it is both an object and the atmosphere. Its presence is highly dynamic – it is in constant change as the quality of north and south light changes during the day.

It is impossible to capture this garden from a single point – it is designed to be comprehended by participation of the passengers. In the words of its architects, the components of the assemblage are made of gestural volumes of color hovering within an immense array of catenaries.

The garden is a suspended cloud, inside the north and south light wells, due to its solid particles almost evenly dispersed within in it. The structure is, however, transparent; therefore it doesn’t block viewer’s perspective. While the environment is interspersed with the metallic bead chain catenaries, it is also constructed from the negative space between the catenaries – sight extends into and throughout the building.

The color composition for the Air Garden is inherited from the architecture of the light wells. Bead chains are reflective as well and the shimmer and reflection create a sense of vastness through the play of light in space. The aim was that the garden embodies the sublime qualities of the utopian paradise of Los Angeles and to engender the sense of freedom.

Air Garden is a project in progress with an estimated completion in fall 2013.