WIIKIAAMI

Wiikiaami was created by J. Irwin & Xenia S. Miller Prize recipient Chris T. Cornelius (studio:indigenous) for Exhibit Columbus 2017. Cornelius designed a contemporary wiikiaami to envelop the walkway leading to Saarinen & Saarinen's First Christian Church. A wiikiaami is the traditional dwelling of the Miyaamia, a people indigenous to Indiana. The structure is both shelter and gateway - perforated copper sheets create patterns of dappled light, and swoop upwards to align with the church's campanile and to mark the autumnal equinox.