According to De Graaf, it’s no coincidence that a sun was chosen. “Many members of this project group are international students themselves, who really experienced the lack of sunlight as a culture shock when they moved here,” she explains. “So it didn’t take long for them to come up with the idea of making their own sun.”

Plexiglass

The light installation measures one and a half meters across and is made of plexiglass and several colored lamps. “Basically, it’s all circles that are attached to one another, made of plexiglass with different kinds of textures,” says De Graaf. “When you shine colored light on it, you get very special reflections.”

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The more, the sunnier

Flare can be found on the fourth floor of the Castor residential tower, which is one of three new student complexes on campus (collectively called Haven). The space that houses the installation is in one of the communal living rooms that are accessible to all Haven residents.

With this thought in mind, IGNITE also added a social aspect to its work. “Special sensors have been used that measure how many people are in the room,” says De Graaf. “If nobody’s there, the light is blue, which is a cold color. But as people enter, the red lamps will switch on and make for a warmer hue.”

Sun on tour

Unfortunately, access to Flare is currently reserved to Haven residents, but at some point it will be on display elsewhere on campus. “The idea is for it to stay at Castor for one or two years, to be given a new spot after that.” For the moment, it’s not yet clear where and when this will be.

The IGNITE members are in talks with TU/e to distribute a few smaller versions of Flare (left on the main photo), which were made as prototypes, across campus. “We’re currently looking into suitable locations, but one of them will be placed in our office in any case,” says De Graaf.