UC San Diego Artwork Wins 'Grand Orchid' Architectural Honor
"Fallen Star" is the title of the art installation by Do Ho Suh -- a house seemingly dropped onto a corner of the seventh floor of Jacobs Hall at the university's Jacobs School of Engineering.
The Grand Orchid for good design was awarded Oct. 3 at the San Diego Architectural Foundation's annual Orchids & Onions ceremony to "Fallen Star," an eye-catching art installation on top of the University of California San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering. The artwork by Do Ho Suh is a small house placed at the very edge of the roof, with one corner hanging in thin air, along with a roof garden. The event took place at the San Diego Museum of Art.
The work "creates a space with panoramic views for small groups to gather and readjust," according to UCSD's Stuart Collection. Fallen Star is the 18th permanent sculpture commissioned by the collection.
San Diego will be the site of the 2014 National Safety Congress & Expo next September.
The jury for this year's awards called Fallen Star "nothing short of brilliant" and "a piece of public art that speaks to something that people don't completely understand. The jury thought it took a horrible, mundane building and put this dynamic and whimsical thing on the roof that begs for further investigation and thought by passersby. They noted the juxtaposition of the drab interior of the building below and the bright interiors of this house, seemingly dangling over the edge. It pulls people into a discussion of 'why?' and spans the dialog from ordinary to esoteric; in the end, it just made the jury smile."
The foundation recognized 16 Official Orchids and seven Official Onions this year.