A rainbow dedicated to the memory

Six prisms made of the color effects glass NARIMA® on the campus of Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, remind us of two professors and four students who lost their lives during an earthquake in Haiti in 2010.



They were looking to help and ended up victims of a natural disaster. Twelve students and two professors from Lynn University in the United States traveled to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in January 2010 to assist with humanitarian aid projects. Two days after they arrived, the hotel they were staying at collapsed during a severe earthquake. Six of them were killed. In memory of them, the university arranged to have a memorial built in the middle of the campus in Boca Raton that was completed in 2012. Six glass prisms shimmer like a rainbow in different color shades, one for each of the deceased members of the university. The sculptures form the main part of “Remembrance Plaza” and each contain the name of one of the people who were killed together with a memorial inscription.



The prisms rest on white pedestals inside a water basin that is only a couple of inches deep. One of the six columns made of polished granite rises up behind each of the glass pillars to support a white roof made of stone. Water continually flows into the basin from here and makes its way down into the lake as a waterfall by way of the six granite steps. “Remembrance Plaza” was planned by the architect Luis Sousa from the architectural firm Sousa Architecture in Florida. He designed the monument made of glass, granite and flowing water. A rainbow for each of the deceased: that was the idea behind using the color effects glass to produce the prisms. Depending on the time of day, incidence of light and angle of view, the glass shimmers in various color shades and thus represents each of the individuals and the various facets of their personalities. To this end, 63 square meters of the fascinating special-purpose glass NARIMA® were installed in the basic colors blue-green for the students and blue-gold for the professors.



Nevertheless, the color effects glass not only shimmers, but also reflects the environment and offers a clear view of the engraved names of the deceased and the inscriptions their families have dedicated to them. Each of the prisms is made of three 1.20 x 2.40 m special glass panes for the sides and an equilateral triangle 1.20 m in size for the top side. 24 panes in total were installed as triple glass laminates made of NARIMA® and two panes of laminated glass.



The characteristic rainbow effect was achieved by combining a variety of different metallic coatings in razor-thin layers. A dipping method was used to apply them to a base glass plate. They also resist scratches and offer high chemical stability. SCHOTT presented the families of the deceased with a plaque made of the same glass that bears the names of their relatives and the inscription “Lynn University Remembrance Plaza.”

Picture IDs 166167 and 162262: A memorial site was created for four students and two professors from Lynn University in Florida who were killed in an earthquake in Haiti in 2010. Six prisms that contain obituaries were produced using SCHOTT NARIMA® color effects glass to form the main part of the memorial. Photo: Brantley Photography (Photo 166167) and SCHOTT (Photo 162262).

SCHOTT is an international technology group with more than 125 years of experience in the areas of specialty glasses and materials and advanced technologies. SCHOTT ranks number one in the world with many of its products. Its core markets are the household appliance, pharmaceuticals, electronics, optics, solar power,  transportation and architecture industries. The company is strongly committed to contributing to its customers’ success and making SCHOTT an important part of people’s lives with high-quality products and intelligent solutions. SCHOTT is committed to managing its business in a sustainable manner and supporting its employees, society and the environment. The SCHOTT Group maintains close proximity to its customers with manufacturing and sales units in all major markets. Its workforce of around 17,000 employees generated worldwide sales of approximately 2.9 billion euros for the 2010/2011 fiscal year. SCHOTT AG, with its headquarters in Mainz (Germany) is owned by the Carl Zeiss Foundation.



Project report available for downloading: http://www.schott.com/architecture/english/downloads.html