International water feature specialist Crystal® is delighted to have supported major contemporary artist Jaume Plensa, on the "World Voices" sculpture at the Burj Khalifa Tower in Dubai, U.A.E. Commissioned by EMAAR Properties and Architects SOM, the art and water installation has the pride of place in the Burj Khalifa's exclusive residential entrance lobby of the world's tallest building.
For the Burj Khalifa lobby, Plensa explains: "The residential lobby area of Burj Khalifa is a meeting place of diverse cultures and nationalities - a metaphor of the diversity of our global society". Composed of 196 cymbals representing the 196 countries of the world, "World Voices" is symbolic to Burj Khalifa being a collaboration of people from across the globe and its iconic status.
Plated with 18-carat gold, the cymbals are suspended onto titanium rods anchored at the bottom of two pools, evoking reeds in a lake. The cymbals create a distinct timbre as they are rhythmically struck by water dropping from the ceiling above which compares to the sound of water falling on leaves. Crystal developed and tested custom gravity-fed water control technology creating the right size, volume and control of the droplets that fall approximately 60 feet (18.2m) from the atrium's gold-leaf ceiling.
Crystal senior associate Rob Mikula says, "It sounds like a simple idea, but to generate the right sound at the time intervals dictated by the artist was challenging. It's truly inspirational collaborating with a public artist of the importance of Mr. Plensa. His ideas concerning water are simple yet very dramatic."
