Denver International: Constellations
The CONSTELLATIONS comprises two suspended sculptures based on the geometry of constellations visible above Denver during the winter and summer solstices. Their curving forms map celestial positions, with illuminated glass stars representing their distance from Earth and connecting Denver's landscape to the larger universal expanse.
- Artist
- Danielle Roney
- Commissioners
- City and County of Denver · Denver International Airport
- Fabrication
- UrbanFX
- Engineering
- Studio Oliva · Werner Sobek
- Installation
- Imagine Design and Production
- My Role
- Technical Design · Computational Tube Development · Fabrication Support
Project Overview
Constellations is a permanent large-scale public artwork by Danielle Roney, commissioned for Denver International Airport's Concourse C expansion. Inspired by the astronomical relationships between stars visible from Earth, the installation transforms scientific data into sweeping illuminated forms that invite travelers to look upward and experience the wonder of the night sky. The sculpture combines computational design, precision engineering, custom fabrication, and architectural lighting to create an immersive installation suspended within the terminal.
As part of the UrbanFX team, I contributed to the technical development and manufacturing of the project — helping translate the artist's computational geometry into precision-fabricated components that could be manufactured, assembled, and installed at architectural scale.
My Contributions
I developed the manufacturing workflow that translated the sculpture's freeform CAD splines into bendable aluminum tube sections. This included segmenting roughly 1,000 linear feet of 2-inch tube, writing custom code to control manufacturability, converting spline paths into radial geometry, and generating R/T/P programs for the Nissin CNC tube bender.
I also built a custom gauging rig and helped develop correction software that used test-bend measurements to refine each program until the physical parts matched the CAD geometry. My work continued through joinery iterations, assembly support, and final installation at Denver International Airport, where the completed sculpture was positioned within approximately ±0.50 inch of the modeled control points.
Process Galleries
Design & Fabrication
Computational tube development, weldments and shop assembly — the sculpture taking shape in raw steel and light.
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Installation
Rigging, node wiring and on-site coordination as the geometry was lifted into the airport atrium.
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Completed Photos
The finished sculptures suspended in the terminal.
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