Sundial by Prescription

Anhalt university of applied sciences, Dessau

Project idea

Sundial is an installation that aims to re-establish the connection between sunlight and time, using digital techniques to create a contemporary interpretation of the ancient sundial. The following video represents the idea and concept https://vimeo.com/161675472

Project description

For centuries, Sundials were the only way for people to tell time. Simple installations would use the interplay of sunlight and shade to create elemental clocks that were deeply rooted within their natural environment. Over the years, clocks and timepieces have evolved away from their connection with nature. Sunlight was replaced by mechanics, the analog replaced by the digital. Nowadays, our phones and watches efficiently inform us about the time of day showing us digital numbers on a screen. But did we lose our understanding of time as a concept closely related to nature?
Created by architectural practice Prescription, Sundial is an installation that aims to re-establish the connection between sunlight and time, using digital techniques to create a contemporary interpretation of the ancient sundial. The 3D-printed installation is shaped like a flowering fan and guides rays of light through its ‘petals’. As the sun rises and sets, the time of day reveals itself in the patterns of
sunlight falling through the installation.

Technical information

The Sundial was created by analyzing the solar path of a specific location.
Using digital techniques, this information was used to create the curves and outlines of the installation. Because of its site-specific nature, Sundial is different for each location on earth and can be customized to suit a variety of sites and scales using 3D-printing techniques.