Midnight Palace
Location: Columbus, Indiana
Client: Exhibit Columbus, J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize
Scope: Installation
Progress/Year: Complete, 2021
Photography: Hadley Fruits & David Shalliol
Client: Exhibit Columbus, J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize
Scope: Installation
Progress/Year: Complete, 2021
Photography: Hadley Fruits & David Shalliol
Midnight Palace is designed for occupants of the midnight city. It asks: What is a public space dedicated to those who live in the nocturnal hours? Columbus is a city of night owls: 39% of the population works in manufacturing, compared to 9% nationwide. Among this late-night group are second and third shift workers, restaurant workers, truckers on I-65, parents of newborns, and residents with families overseas. A lattice-work of electrical conduit, Midnight Palace features a “wall of light” inspired by Columbus’ streetscape: high-pressure sodium fixtures, LED light bulbs, and soffit lighting. Paying homage to the Columbus Drive-In, which closed in 1992. Screens feature community partner programming: from cricket matches to short films.
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b1a1a35794fbc5d680be282acb23d15a0f5db6b73011b119c474a7c429b1538f/CR2A4643_5_60c-copy.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ed18a58228eca70604645390d4031f53dc50117d8f01d1d1e63dbe1cbecf2d0b/Future-Firm_Midnight-Palace_04.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/015635f2a18b43b755fe02f26fdf1d2edf3d3ddf0ee207429e6cfb0835e3409d/Midnight-PalaceFuture-Firm_006.jpg)
![Washington Street at night in the 1950s](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b32f52562d058c769cbf97bffc4eeceaf4aeb357cb9d86940e16eaa5543bc128/downtown50s.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/fcfe954788eeede718213edc5130a192ecda6be5928fbd2f97f01b94a8f8ea42/NIGHT-OWLS-SCHEDULE_JOINED.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ebce3c7ed9af77a3f8d83cd98c41c91283ba6b42c41bdfee1a336d218e71932f/unnamed-2.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b671e14d87f696c4680deeb70125949469918f0ea985c3bc2eb607adaf04052b/Midnight-PalaceFuture-Firm_018.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7b9f5a4dde9b63ca7a18bc23608bb0e54e45931b29163465f26a7569a7d1d65e/unnamed-1.jpg)
![Original concept rendering](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d717d3b64c1e34bb8a164957d022858f5e12c310803b76b9570bd7429fdcc8fc/01_MIDNIGHT-PALACE_ELEVATION.jpg)