SAN DIEGO—Demonstrating its commitment to San Diego, Hotel Indigo San Diego Gaslamp Quarter is investing more than $300,000 in the local arts community and is taking hotel art to a new level—12 stories up, in fact. Following more than a year of design work and two weeks of installation, Hotel Indigo San Diego unveiled its first piece of public art in advance of the hotel opening on July 13, 2009. Aptly named “Indigo Waters,” the 40-foot exterior wall sculpture made up of 33 hand-painted, laminated and tempered blue-colored glass panels is positioned on the western facade of the hotel between the ninth and twelfth floors. The sculpture was designed and created by local artist Lisa Schirmer.
“Designed to mimic the waves and ripples of the Pacific Ocean when the sun hits the glass, our Indigo Waters sculpture will be a bright spot in the San Diego skyline and a visible moniker of our commitment to the local community,” said Chris Jones, general manager of Hotel Indigo San Diego. “Our dedication to the arts will continue well into the future as we plan to host art shows and other soirées to spotlight local artists, musicians and causes that align with the Hotel Indigo brand.”
Working with a talented team of local artists, photographers and designers, Hotel Indigo San Diego has captured the vibrant character and inviting coastal culture of the San Diego region by using locally-inspired artwork throughout the hotel.
Math Principles and Design
The underpinning of the Hotel Indigo brand’s design and décor can be attributed to the Fibonacci sequence and the ratio known as the Golden Mean (or Phi). These math principles are found in nature and can be seen in the perfect proportion of the nautilus shell, which is represented in the Hotel Indigo brand logo. Adopting this mathematical ratio as a design principle helps create a feeling of balance and effortless beauty within the space.
“The idea behind the sculpture is to create a wavelike pattern of indigo colors by rotating and repeating square and quarter circle shapes on square glass panels,” Schirmer said. The glass panels are arranged vertically in a Fibonacci sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13) in seven layers on a curved outside wall of the hotel. As daylight shifts, the glass will create a dramatic mix of color and movement; tasteful back-lighting at night will create a new composition of colors.
In addition to the external wall sculpture, Hotel Indigo San Diego commissioned local photographer Ian Cummings to take photos of native plants and water-driven imagery, including agaves, echeveria, California poppies, beaches, rivers, lakes and the ocean. These locally-reflective images will be artistically applied to create large-scale photographic murals that will appear in guestrooms, the hotel lobby, Phi Bar and Bistro, and public areas.
Go to the Hotel Indigo San Diego.
