1. Background

Thinking about our design for 2020, we focused on the movement of the sun during the equinoxes, and the cultures of the native Americans who have lived in the southwestern United States. On the equinox morning, if you look east from the Bluff Great House, you can see the sun shining through the Twin Rocks, as the sun rises. Also, the number four is known as an important number in traditional Navajo philosophy. For example, Navajo culture has four directions, four seasons, and four sacred mountains (Mt. Hesperus, Mt. Blanca, San Francisco Peaks, and Mt. Taylor) associated with four colors. For the Navajo people, the east is considered the beginning of everything and a beautiful place to represent all things.

2. Design Concept

In this design, we focused on the phenomenon that the sun's shadow moves along a linear east-west path on the equinoxes. We referred to this as the "Sun Road", and it became our main design concept. We emphasized the "Sun Road", by creating a path of light and shadow cast from four blocks extending along the east-west axis, which will make visitors aware of this phenomenon. Furthermore, different times and seasons are emphasized through shadow alignments at solar
noon on the summer and winter solstices.

3. Project Site

A line connects the positions of the sunrise on summer solstice and the sunset on winter solstice. Another line connects the positions of the sunrise on winter solstice and the sunset on summer solstice. We are thinking of creating this monument at the point where these lines intersect, in relation to the previous
projects. You would be able to see the 2019 D88 monument when looking at the direction of the sunset on the summer solstice from this point. Furthermore, when looking at the direction of the sunset on the winter solstice, you would see the 2018 monument.

4. Monument Detail

Since the concrete mass is 2.3t/m, the weight of each north block would be about 1.0t, and the weight of each south block would be around 0.4t. We think that styrofoam embedded in the concrete blocks would reduce the weight by 30~40%. We plan to assemble the north blocks from 18 pieces, and the south blocks from 8 pieces. Each piece would weigh around 70~100kg. The diagonal lines in the monument created by the division of the individual pieces, would coincide with the directions of the sunrises and sunsets of the summer/ winter solstices and the previous project sites. Also, the proportions of the top surfaces of the monument are determined by two different silver ratios.

6. More Info

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