National Medal of Honor Museum
Arlington, Texas
Created as a permanent symbol of gratitude and remembrance, the National Medal of Honor Museum illuminates the Texas sky every evening with a vertical beam of light that stands out above Arlington. A powerful, solemn beam, full of meaning: it is not just light, but an architectural language that communicates universal values such as courage, sacrifice, and national unity.
This beam, visible from miles away, crosses the sky from the very heart of the museum. A light installation designed to leave a lasting impression, to speak to those who watch in silence, to celebrate every day the heroism of the men and women decorated with the highest military honor in the United States. .
Monumental lighting in the service of memory
The idea came from the Rafael Viñoly Architects studio: to build a “suspended” museum that would symbolize the moral strength of the stories told within it. Five monumental columns support the large exhibition hall, each representing a branch of the US armed forces. But one was missing: the Space Force.
This is how the element of light came to be the sixth pillar. A vertical beam, pure, immaterial. È qui che entra in gioco Spacecannon.
The team was tasked with creating lighting that would stand out in the night sky, blending harmoniously with the architecture of the central courtyard (the “Rotunda of Honor”) and perfectly crossing the circular oculus that symbolically connects the earth to the sky.
“It's incredibly majestic. This beam of light will become a symbol for the entire country.”
Chris Cassidy, CEO Medal of Honor Foundation
The technical challenge: a half-kilometer-high pillar of light
To achieve a visual impact consistent with the monumentality of the project, it was necessary to create a compact, straight, powerful beam that was visible from a great distance without dispersion.
The solution? A synergistic combination of nine high-power Spacecannon projectors, installed in a circle under the oculus and perfectly calibrated. The result is the Sky Beam: a column of light that rises over 500 meters and lights up the Texas sky every night.
Each fixture utilises 7000W Xenon technology, with outputs reaching 350,000 lumens each. An installation that works in synergy to generate a single, perfectly uniform and visually striking beam, designed to withstand the most extreme weather conditions and guarantee stable performance every evening, all year round.
Intelligent control and simplified maintenance
The system is equipped with intelligent automation: the projectors activate at dusk and switch off at dawn, without the need for manual intervention. Each component has been integrated into the architectural design to ensure accessibility, safety and optimised maintenance, with a technical structure that allows for quick and efficient periodic replacement of the lamps.
A landmark of light in the heart of Texas
Every evening, when the light column turns on, the museum is transformed. The architecture becomes a symbol, and light becomes a powerful and direct visual language. The Sky Beam is not only a spectacular gesture, but a recognizable urban landmark, a new point of reference in the Arlington landscape.
Projects such as this demonstrate how lighting can transcend technology and become storytelling, emotion, identity. E in questo, Spacecannon è ancora una volta protagonista.
