Documented artwork / kinetic architectural installation
Wind Portal
Credit as documented: Ned Kahn
Wind Portal turns the circular circulation opening at San Francisco International Airport's BART station into a moving field of reflections. About 200,000 small stainless-steel disks respond to ambient air and the currents created by passing trains. As travelers move between levels, their clothing supplies changing colors to the reflected surface. Kahn worked with the architectural firm MBT and coordinated with BART and the airport contractor; the San Francisco Arts Commission funded the work.
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At a glance
- Year / version
- 2002 collection date; 2003 artist completion
- Materials
- stainless-steel disks, delrin tiles
- Documented setting
- unknown
- Dimensions
- Opening: 55 ft diameter × 12 ft deep (artist); artwork: 124 × 192 × 384 in (SFAC).
- Dimensions apply to
- Architectural opening and collection dimensions kept separate; no axis conversion or reconciliation.
- Availability
- Unconfirmed
Places & versions
Installation history
Historical presentations. A past installation does not establish the current location or suitability for a new site.
2003 (artist completion)
BART / AirTrain circulation opening, San Francisco International Airport, California
- Site
- San Francisco International Airport BART Station circulation opening
- State / region
- CA
- Country
- United States (inferred; not independently confirmed)
Installation details checked 2026-10-17.
Materials and construction
The artist dates completion to 2003 and describes a 55-foot-diameter, 12-foot-deep opening. The commission's collection record dates the artwork 2002 and separately reports 124 × 192 × 384 inches.
Presentation and site context
The disks surround stairs and escalators linking the BART and AirTrain station levels. The commission describes one-inch disks attached to lattice panels.
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Sources
- kiosk.sfartscommission.org ↗ · Checked 2026-10-17
- nedkahn.com ↗ · Checked 2026-10-17