The Challenge

The wall proposed for the mural, 45ft tall by 135ft, is not only large but forms one side of a space relatively narrow in relation to its width and height.  The outdoor patio will be impacted by the proposed mural as well as those spaces consecutive, such as the elevator lobby and corridor/apartments opposite.After much deliberation as to how to treat this large wall and the problems it presents, I felt that the most coherent plan would be to use color in order to dissolve the surface of the wall.  Because light is such an important factor in how we read and experience space, the specific color and texture of the surface will be a very important part of the final result.

Description of the Solution

I propose to cover the wall in question, 45ft tall by 135ft wide, with colors reminiscent of water and sky, organized in strips that become smaller as they near the central horizon of the wall surface, thereby giving the effect of a perspectival space with reduced imagery and means.  I suggest that these striations of color, which will act simultaneously as a device to unify the wall while projecting space into it, should be made with a very matt paint, like chalk/lime whitewash, tinted with raw pigment, as this would give asoft, suede-like, almost fresco feeling to the wall and allow the color to glow in a special way.Within this atmosphere, created by the slightly colored strips, a series of circles will hang flush against hte wall, containing three different realms. By producing focus points, in the form of these circles, the feeling of space will be enhanced by providing resting places for the eye.

These circles will be treated in three separate ways depending on their location:
 
"REFLECTIONS" filled with mirror
 
"THEATRES", each filled with an image of nature; the thing most missing
by inhabiting urban areas is nature (some proposed ideas for these can
be seen on the drawing)
 
"BUBBLES" painted as trompe l'oeil spheres in order to reinforce the illusion of space created by the colored wall  
 
In this way the wall will reflect back the actual world in the different sized circular mirrors, offer an alternative in the form of a natural scene or landscape in the "theatre bubbles", and still leave room for the illusion of space within the wall where the empty bubbles float together with the rest. 

The final effect of these different elements will be to give coherence to the wall and the space with color and drawing, dissolving the looming quality of the gigantic wall and thereby making the surroundings feel spacious, airy and atmospheric.