Spanda, Modern sculpture at Elizabeth Quay, Perth, Australia

Spanda is a 29-metre sculpture of six white carbon-fibre arches nested one inside another, set on the waterfront at Elizabeth Quay in Perth. The arches rise from a small inner frame to the largest outer one, and visitors walk through the opening from the innermost arch outward.

The sculpture was designed by Christian de Vietri and selected in 2014 as part of a wider waterfront renewal project at Elizabeth Quay. It was completed and installed in 2016 when the redeveloped waterfront opened to the public.

The name comes from Kashmir Shaivism, where spanda denotes a cosmic pulsation, the pulse of consciousness. Christian de Vietri's six nested arches translate that idea into a form visitors walk through, moving from the smallest inner arch outward to the largest.

Spanda stands on the Elizabeth Quay waterfront, reachable on foot from the surrounding promenade and the nearby ferry jetty and train station. The open arches have no door or single entrance, so you can walk through the interior from either side at any hour. The ground beneath is paved and level, and the structure offers no shelter, so check the weather before lingering.

The arches are made from carbon fiber, a material more commonly used in aerospace construction. This is what allows a structure 29 meters tall to look as thin and light as it does from the ground.