Time Tunnel

‘Time Tunnel’ is an installation won through open competition by two University of Sheffield graduates. The project, commissioned by The Secret Garden Party in Cambridgeshire, offered an alternative and interactive route on the way to the main stage.

In response to the theme, ‘Gardeners Guide to the Galaxy’, the installation transported Gardeners into a new dimension through a tunnel that warped time and space. The materials were chosen in order to twist and bend the world around us whilst enticing people in with a bright and interactive light show. The simplicity of the installation is designed to juxtapose the complex and vibrant backdrop of the garden.

Plywood is used to create a series of arches, which are laminated with mirrored film to distort reality by reflecting the installations surroundings. Each arch stands independently and is offset from the previous in both height and width making it difficult to read from a distance. Motion sensors at each end of the tunnel set off a chain reaction light show that pulses from one end of the tunnel to the other as festival-goers pass through.

The budget for the project was £1100 and the installation was designed to be dismantled at the end of the festival. The rammed-earth foundations for each arch ensure there is minimal long-term impact on the site and the plywood has been reused to create subsequent projects.

The project is a self-initiated collaboration between two University of Sheffield graduates: David Hodgson (RIBA Part I) and Matthew Greenslade (MEng).