Tokyo-based Emmanuelle Moureaux, architect, artist, designer, and founder of emmanuelle moureaux architecture + design, collaborated recently with Google to unveil the new entrance to their headquarters in Mountain View, California. Titled 100 colors no.52 “MIRAGE”, the piece spans the width of the Google campus, encasing the grounds in a richly colorful, metallic binary. The panels of delicate ovals locked together resemble zeroes, while when viewed perpendicularly, the zeroes become ones. An elegant interpretation of binary code, the headquarters are both protected by and limited within the language of computing.
A parade of colors greets the viewer at first blush, the distinct motifs blending into one another, creating cascades of hues from across the color spectrum. The science behind how color makes us think and feel is powerful, defining emotions, energy levels, and even brain function. Becoming intentional about which colors we surround ourselves with can bring peace and serenity, or create an activating and energetic feeling, depending on the desired effect. The way the colors interact allows us to focus on the confluences of our personal favorites, all while walking to work. While the morning commute is usually a dreary one, the bold hues of the entrance add a splash of energy to an otherwise gray facade. As products overall become more greige, Moureaux helps us celebrate the difference and beauty between distinct shades, diversity ever present as we move forward together.
Created over five years with 100 colors represented in the work, the 60-meter-long installation holds zeroes in an infinite grid, seemingly endless, as the number Googolplex defines. At each of the five entrances, the angles have been carefully calculated to reveal and then obscure the zeroes, suggesting the ineffability impermanence of infinity.
With enough zeroes to denote a google itself, the symmetry created staring straight down the middle is bound to scratch any balance enthusiast’s itch. Endless ovals stretching as far back as one might dare, by nature obstructing more and more of their neighbor’s colors. The effect created is so different one module down, each hue obscured in a different yet intriguing way.
Emmanuelle Moureaux is a French architect living in Tokyo, where she established emmanuelle moureaux architecture + design in 2003. Inspired by the layered density and color present on the streets of Tokyo, she developed the concept of shikiri, which literally means “dividing (creating) space with colors.” This has been a defining principle of her work, collaborating with UNIQLO, ISSEY MIYAKE, and the National Art Center in Tokyo. She shares: “The title of the work, ‘MIRAGE’ expresses the hope that a colorful mirage will rise in the hearts of those who see this work, sublimate into a dream that emits a magnificent light, and eventually be realized in the real world.”
To learn more about the various 100 Colors projects, please visit Emmanuelle Moureaux’s website at emmanuellemoureaux.com.
Photography by Daisuke Shima.
