Artist Liam Gillick designed the canopy at Centene Plaza in Clayton, Missouri, which makes use of the light-diffusing capabilities of glass to illuminate the walkway between two buildings in a new and captivating way. In addition to protecting walkers from the weather and elements overhead, the canopy was also designed to offer a visual distraction and encourage a moment of mindfulness apart from the hustle and bustle of the vibrant commercial center it’s located in.

Using Vanceva® color interlayer technology, the canopy lights up the space beneath it in a dazzling array of bright, translucent colors. A passerby using the walkway for its utilitarian purpose also can take an opportunity to observe the canopy’s beauty and functionality, and it plays upon the concepts, similarities, and differences between utility and art.

Gillick describes the structure as “a link between a place of arrival and a place of work…a site for the distracted viewer who has other things on his mind.