Arts festival: Domes to light up waterfront

The world's newest luminarium is coming to Tauranga for the arts festival.

The world's newest luminarium will pop up on the Tauranga waterfront next month after a change of plan by its creators.

Architects of Air, the British company that designs and makes the light-filled, walk-in, inflatable sculptures, had planned to send 2012 model Exxopolis to Tauranga as part of the Tauranga Arts Festival but is instead dispatching its newest construction, Arboria.

"It's a real win," said festival director Jo Bond. "Nothing else has changed. It still opens on October 16 and closes on November 1, ticket prices remain the same, and this is still the only place it will visit in the Bay of Plenty-Waikato region.

"Arboria only opened in May in the UK so it hasn't been seen in the Southern Hemisphere and we are among the first in the world to experience it. It's an amazingly generous gesture from Architects of Air."

Timed-entry tickets already purchased for Exxopolis simply transfer to Arboria. Half the tickets for any one day are available for pre-sale with the rest as door sales.

The luminarium - said to hold light like an aquarium holds water - includes three 8m-high domes, each dominated by a primary colour - red, green or blue, and has a 10m-high central dome inspired by a jewel of English architecture, York Minster.

It is 52m long and almost 32m wide. Like all luminariums, shoes are left outside and it is accessible to people of all ages.

"Arboria is an ode to trees and comes with a soundscape that evokes the Ecuadorian cloud forest for a heightened experience," Ms Bond said.

"It will be a wondrous experience."

Architects of Air founder Alan Parkinson designed and built his first luminarium in 1985, with help from Probation Service offenders. His intention, then as now, is to stimulate interest in light and colour.

Luminariums have been touring the globe since 1992, visiting 43 countries on five continents and enchanting more than two million visitors.

Arboria, the company's 22nd luminarium, will be inflated on the waterfront at The Strand.

The luminarium

* Timed-entry tickets for the luminarium are on sale from Baycourt or ticketek.co.nz.

* Adult entry is $12 (plus booking fee), with discounts for families.

* Tickets purchased for Exxopolis are valid for Arboria.

* The luminarium is open from October 16 to November 1, with the Tauranga Arts Festival from October 22 to November 1.