Crystals

Suspended within the 60-foot atrium, Crystals is inspired by the concept of Net Zero energy building design and the heritage trees in the adjacent plaza. The installation evokes the experience of looking upward through tall branching forms that gather light and rainwater, bringing that sensation into the interior space.

Approximately 1,000 cast glass crystals are threaded onto a stainless steel cable structure, capturing and reflecting ambient light as they descend through the volume of the atrium. At the top, branching cable lines attach to the ceiling and gradually gather into two lowest stem-like forms that extend downward toward the landings of the grand stair, where visitors ascending through the atrium encounter the sculpture from below.

The crystalline elements also reference Hayward’s salt industry, active from the 1850s through the 1980s. Salt was historically harvested through renewable energy sources—the sun for evaporation and wind to power Archimedes screw pumps. The glass crystals recall salt formations, linking the site’s industrial past with the library’s forward-looking sustainable design.