A Luminous History

Nobody wants to face a hike through an 800-foot-long subterranean tunnel to change their flight. Unless, that is, the tunnel immerses the visitor in a phantasmagoric feast of the senses, which is what SmithGroup created at the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. One of the first architectural uses of color-changing LEDs, the tunnel’s lighting is outfitted with custom-designed LEDs that wash the sculpted glass-panel walls and the terrazzo floor with an ever-changing prismatic display accompanied by mood-altering music. A glimpse of lighting applications to come, this early display of LED technology still remains one of the most artistic deployments of color-changing light.