THE CONCEPT

The sculptural glass wall MOTUS (2019) is located on the ground floor of the House of Science of the University of Latvia. It is the second most grandiose architectural glass artwork by glass sculptor Ernest Vitin and is entirely handmade using the technique of vertical layered, aka stacked glass. The glass wall quickly draws the bypasser's attention due to its remarkable light-reflecting properties - the surface alternates between partially showing and fully concealing the observer's reflection.

MOTUS separates the student information centre from the rest of the vast open-plan ground floor. Nevertheless, it functions inconspicuously and elegantly, making the space feel like part of the interior symphony rather than an appendix. 

Masterfully incorporated into the interior of the university building, the architectural glass design wall is more than ten meters wide and reaches up to three and a half meters at the highest point. It is handmade using the author's Ernest Vitins technique, turning the glass stacking manner vertically. Over 1,000 uniquely cut textured Ultra-clear glass sheets unite to form an impressive overall pattern. Each glass sheet is the same thickness and width (8mm thick, 10cm wide). The pattern of the vertical stack is very concentrated in places. But, as the wall reaches farther into the room, the composition shifts the arrangement of glass sheets. The oblique, curvaceous perspective reveals this architectural glass art object's main effect- transparency, which alternates with virtually perfect space mystery.

The main effect occurs because of the textural activity imprinted in the artwork. Joining some of the glass sheets tightly while creating the principle of an open fan elsewhere simultaneously reveals and hides the space behind the glass wall. Additional soft deflections stirrup the seemingly vertical surface, rendering a heterogeneous yet sophisticated overall result. The glass wall quickly draws the bypasser's attention due to its remarkable light-reflecting properties, sometimes revealing and sometimes hiding the observer's reflection completely.

Motus architectural glass design wall combines bent lines and clean edges; it is heavy yet airy - creating harmony between all opposites and reminding of the dualities in the world, which in various combinations create the environment. The unique architectural glass object bestows an aesthetic sense on the interior, almost merging two rooms while keeping them separate. The work of glass art surrounded by solid concrete is distinctly ethereal, overcoming the monolithic nature of the academic centre.

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The stacked glass wall Motus may be enriched with light projections in the future. Some lighting tests were carried out in cooperation with the University of Latvia staff under Professor Jānis Spīgulis's guidance. They raised several exciting questions and complications that would have to be solved with opticians and physicists.

Time will show whether this will be the way forward. Nonetheless, Motus is a piece of architectural art that speaks the most refined language of visual aesthetics.