Client: PEPCO
Location: Washington, DC, United States
Completion date: 2017
Artwork budget: $250,000
Project Team
Co-Designer, Co-Fabricator
Eli Hess
Lighting Design
Debra Gilmore
Gilmore Lighting Design
Overview
David and Eli Hess designed and built this monumental sculpture, paying homage to Nikola Tesla and his experiments with high voltage electricity. Programmable LED light fixtures in the balls and towers make the sculpture flash at night, simulating electricity. Located on the southeast corner of the new PEPCO Waterfront Substation, the sculpture illuminates the importance of the building that is its backdrop. The theme of electricity is imperative in DC’s newest region of development, the Southwest Waterfront neighborhood. We see this sculpture, entitled Flash Point, as the spark for the neighborhood as it continues to build, including a new home stadium for the DC United Soccer Club.
Goals
Create a gateway for the developing Southwest Waterfront Neighborhood; Provide a public-facing sculptural moment for the Potomac Energy and Power Company (PEPCO)