George Deukmejian Courthouse In Long Beach Air Columns By Ned Kahn Editorial Image

Ned Kahn’s Air Columns, for the George Deukmejian Courthouse in Long Beach, California redefines the classic architectural column long associated with courthouse design as a wind-responsive semi-transparent form. Each of the four columns sited at the building’s main entrance is treated in the same manner: a concrete base 10 feet high by 3 foot diameter supports the fifty- foot tall sculptural elements. The sculptures consist of thousands of aluminum flaps each 4” high x 2” wide that are hinged on stainless steel rods running from the top of the sculpture at sixty feet above grade to the top of the concrete base at 10 feet above grade. There are three concentric circles of flaps that radiate out from the sixteen-inch steel support pipe in the center of the column. The attachment of the flaps to the rods is such that the slightest air current will cause the flaps to rotate creating a column that is both solid and fluid. The effect of light hitting the softly reflective flaps appear as a dappled effect, almost akin to leaves rustling in wind.n