Entry Date:
June 3, 2015

Double Horizon

Principal Investigator J Yoon


Double Horizon is an interactive light piece for the San Ysidro Land Port of Entry. Located near San Diego, the San Ysidro Land Port of Entry is busiest border crossing in the United States, currently processing an average of 50,000 northbound vehicles and 25,000 pedestrians per day. The GSA is currently expanding and building a new facility which includes a primary and secondary inspection canopy. Double Horizon is a 520’ long linear lighting installation along the leading edge of the canopy.

The Light Piece will be a marker that is both a gateway and a means of communication. The canopy edge will be lit with a linear array of programmable LEDs that will respond to the movement vehicles by marking their passage with a ripple effect of lighting as they pass through the border crossing. A ripple of bright blue light will be visible in the ‘active’ land and move outwards in both directions and fade as it moves across the line. Viewing the port from a distance, the edge of the canopy will be constantly animated by the movement of cars across the border.

The installation consists of a linear light feature mounted to the canopy facing the northbound lanes. The lighting elements are attached to the existing structure and housed in an aluminum channel. The linear LED fixtures are computer controlled to create the lighting behavior patterns. The aluminum channel is attached as a rail supported on the existing canopy beams ends, and spanning between them to provide a continuous line of light. To achieve the rippling light effect on the beam, the project uses Philips Color Kinetics LED Graze fixtures and custom controllers.