LUMINARIUM IS COMING TO DONCASTER!

Luminarium, Architects of Air - Alan Parkinson

25th May - 30th May 2024

Doncaster Minster, East Lawn

FREE

Admissions and ticketing

- The event is free 

- The Luminarium will admit visitors from 10 am to 4pm (last admission)

- The duration may be limited to 20 minutes in the case of high attendance
- On the door tickets available onsite during opening times on a first come first served basis. This queue might close early in the case of high attendance.
- A limited amount of pre-booked tickets are available online for priority admission at booked times from 10.30am to 3pm. Advance ticket holders must arrive 10 minutes before the time indicated on the ticket and will have priority access up to 30 minutes from the time indicated on the ticket. A small queue should still be expected.
- If advance tickets are indicated as sold out you can still join the line onsite.

-Please note individuals must leave their shoes at the entrance area of the Luminarium whilst going through the experience.

- Children under 16 years will only be admitted accompanied by an adult. 1 adult for 4 children 

-The Luminarium is accessible to wheelchair users

What is Luminarium?

A Luminarium is a sculpture people enter to be moved to a sense of wonder at the beauty of light and colour. A dazzling maze of winding paths and soaring domes where natural forms, Islamic architecture, Archimedean solids and Gothic cathedrals meld into an inspiring mix of design and engineering.

Since 1992 over 3 million visitors in more than 40 countries across 5 continents have immersed themselves in the spectacular and luminous world of Architects of Air. The next stop for the Luminarium is… Doncaster!

Luminarium - Dodecalis

Dodecalis is named after the dodecahedron – the 12-sided Platonic solid based on pentagons. Dodecalis’ main feature is 3 domes based on a stellated and truncated variant of the dodecahedron. The dome’s asymmetry serves to disorientate the visitor in a way to make exploration more exciting and new design techniques enable a fluid breakdown of the form into flowing neon-like contour lines of vibrant intensity.

Above eye-level one can see more clearly the dome’s pentagonal foundation and can sense what it is like to be inside a Platonic solid. Dodecalis’ tranquil Main Dome carries on with the motif of neon-like tracery and an imposing Blue Tree completes the ensemble.

Alan Parkinson - Founder, Designer and Artistic Director

Founder, designer and artistic director Alan Parkinson first started experimenting with pneumatic sculptures in the I980s and has since developed his own language of form in this plastic medium.

Alan Parkinson’s involvement with inflatable structures began on a Nottingham community project in 1981. He designed and built his first luminarium in 1985, with the aid of offenders required to do community service as their punishment. In 1990 he created ‘Eggopolis’ which was the first of his luminaria to be shown outside Nottinghamshire. In 1992 the community project closed down and Architects of Air was formed.

Alan Parkinson’s intention is to stimulate visitors to a sense of wonder to the beauty of light and colour, and create an environment where the visitors experience is influenced by their own relation to space.

Since 1992 Architects of Air, a Nottingham based company, has built 21 luminaria, made over 600 exhibitions, and toured in 43 countries where over 3 million visitors have immersed themselves in the luminous world of Architects of Air.