Skylos

Photo: Joshua Ware

Date: 2022
Location: Center, Colorado, United States

Skylos is a land art installation in the dark sky high alpine desert of Colorado’s San Luis Valley. The project comprises eight 3D printed earthen silos, each containing views of the sky viewed from 8,000 ft above sea level. It is the first 3D-printed earthen building in the world to be permitted for construction and the largest 3D-printed earthen building on the planet, paving the way for advanced 3D-printed earthen buildings to be normalized in the construction industry.

Named for the preponderance of silos in the northern part of the San Luis Valley, but rather than silos that hold grain, they are silos for holding the sky and give visitors an immersive experience that allows for the contemplation of the relationship between earth and sky. The structure is composed of eight earthen silos, that are conjoined in pairs, creating four, two-chamber rooms clustered in a circular formation defining a central courtyard, which also frames the sky.

Credits

Design: Ronald Rael
Construction: Ronald Rael, Logman Arja, Michael Jiron, Elliot Surber, Mattias Rael
Client: Frontier Drive In
Engineering: Wallace Design Collective