Sundet, 2022. Sønderborg

Sundet (Delta) a hanging light sculpture in Sønderborg

With its special location as a natural hub at the border between Denmark and Europe, Sønderborg is known as a historic market town that has played a very significant role in the history of Denmark. With impressive steep slopes, attractive stands, lush forests and idyllic countryside just around the corner, Sønderborg is a big city in the middle of nature.

The light sculpture Sundet is based on the nature around Sønderborg, and specifically Als Sund, which runs between Als and the Jutland peninsula Sundeved. Here we have created a work of light that, with its design language, draws the poetry and life of nature into the building of the Economic Administration and adds identity to the architecture by referring to Als Sund and the city’s location close to water, land and nature.Sundet is a light sculpture that hangs below the tapes in the ceiling of the large meeting room on the first floor. The height of the ceiling, the length of the room and the possible separation of the meeting room into two parts means that the sculpture works both when the room is open, but also divided into two separate rooms. Anchored in the large meeting room Sundet creates, both with its location and volume, a natural focal point in the building. Here, the light sculpture adds an impressive aesthetic dimension to the existing architecture, not only beautifully decorating the space, but also unifying the form and function of the room.

Sundet is created using energy-saving LED tubes to create an organic shape that meanders up underneath the building’s ceiling structure like a hanging luminous organic shape. Inspired by the shape of Als Sund, which varies from 150m to approximately 500m in width, the width of the light sculpture also varies to create an organic expression. The sculpture’s presence extends across the large meeting room, breaking the possible dichotomy of the space. To take advantage of the room’s division into two, the light can, in the same way, also be divided in two, so that it is experienced both as two separate sculptures and as one overall light experience. With references to Als Sund and the natural light that surrounds Sønderborg, the Sundet relates to the elements found in the area; the sun, nature and sea. Here we work with yellow, orange, red, violet, and blue colors, so that the sculpture in one room is dominated by warm shades, while in the other room it has a main emphasis on cold ones. Here, a beautiful transition between the colors is experienced, so that they change from yellow, orange, red, magenta, violet and into the bluish tones, thus tying the whole light sculpture together. The transformation in light, shape and colors makes Sundet appear differently depending on the viewing angle and time of day. While during the day it functions as a subtle colored lighting that blends with the daylight in the meeting room, in the evening and at night Sundet has a more pronounced appearance in the room, which can be experienced when the building is viewed from the outside. In this way, the Economic Administration gets a sculpture that lives its own quiet poetic life in synergy with the life in and around the building in symbiosis with the sea, sun and nature. 

Sundet was commissioned by Sønderborg Art Council and was inaugurated in July 2022.