Dezeen Magazine

The Dome by Héctor Serrano at Coachella

Revellers at this year's Coachella festival in California can visit a silent disco inside a dome of colour-changing balls by Spanish designer Héctor Serrano (+ slideshow).

The Dome by Héctor Serrano at Coachella

Produced by Borealis, the installation arm of Serrano's studio, The Dome is built from nearly 1000 inflated PVC spheres with LED lights at their centres. "They're kind of like beach balls," Serrano told Dezeen.

The Dome by Héctor Serrano at Coachella

Each LED is connected to a computerised system, which relays a combination of around 50 different patterns of light and colour. The program can be downloaded to a smartphone or tablet, making it easy to alter the sequence.

The Dome by Héctor Serrano at Coachella

Cables fix each of the balls around the skeletal framework of the dome.

The Dome by Héctor Serrano at Coachella

Serrano says he originally planned to rent a much smaller structure, but ended up using a dome that Coachella already owned.

The Dome by Héctor Serrano at Coachella

"It's four times bigger than our original proposal," he explains. "We had to have the balls custom made in China to get them ready in time."

The Dome by Héctor Serrano at Coachella

The structure was installed for the two weekends of the annual music festival and will be dismantled later this month.

The Dome by Héctor Serrano at Coachella

Héctor Serrano is based in London. Past projects by the designer include a speaker designed to look like a computer icon and a set of accessories for turning balloons into animal heads. See more design by Héctor Serrano.

The Dome by Héctor Serrano at Coachella

Other designs we've featured from music festivals include tree-mounted urinals at Roskilde in Denmark and star-shaped lights from Burning Man festival in Nevada.

The Dome by Héctor Serrano at Coachella

Here's some more information from Héctor Serrano:


The Dome by Borealis for Coachella

Inspired by the Pantheon dome in Rome, the installation resemblance a cathedral of light, an art piece where the visitor is immerse in a 360º unique experience completely surround with light. The dome works as immersive environments when inside and as large scale sculpture when view from outside. The dome is made out of nearly 1000 spheres and LEDs that are used as a pixel, creating a volumetric environment with infinite patterns and possibilities.

The Dome by Héctor Serrano at Coachella

Borealis is the installation division of Hector Serrano. The Dome launches on Friday 12 April and will be open for Coachella two weekends 12-15 and 19-21 and attended by more than 200,000 people. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is an annual three-day music and arts festival, held in Indio, California in the Inland Empire's Coachella Valley. The event features many music genres, including rock, indie, hip hop, and electronic music, as well as sculpture.