Health, Wellness, and Labyrinths

Families visiting the museum journey through the labyrinth together. Some of the children run, racing along curved paths and careening around corners. Parents walk, at times cautioning kids to slow down, often to no avail. The youngest are sometimes confused by abrupt turns and switchbacks and stand there pondering how to proceed. A father encourages his preschooler to trust the path and continue moving forward. Eventually, they arrive in the center and begin their outward journey.

Though it appears straight forward, this 7-circuit labyrinth is surprisingly unpredictable. Each time I walk its path, I am giddy with delight, not knowing where I’ll end up next. Only when I am on the last curve before the final meander am I certain of my imminent arrival in the center.

My husband and I built the labyrinth for a health and wellness workshop for families. We selected this labyrinth design by artist, Mark Wallinger, for its atypical pattern. The circular labyrinth has five paired paths that radiate from the center and is unlike a Chartres-style labyrinth with four quadrants or a classical labyrinth with long, arching paths that alternate back and forth around the center. We hoped that this design would result in a unique journey through the labyrinth. We, and others who walked it, were not disappointed.

The location of the labyrinth under the “solar arches” by sculptor, Joseph Rastovich, was also a fortuitous choice, as we had originally planned to build it on the grassy lawn. The pairing of labyrinth and sculpture against a vista of the Columbia River was elegant. When viewed from the opposite direction, the sculpture, labyrinth, and the museum (designed by architect, Terrence Thornhill) were complementary—each element enhancing the qualities of the others.

As we walked the labyrinth, we also experienced an unusual acoustic phenomenon at specific points in the labyrinth. Sound bouncing between the arches and the ground extended the reverberation time, amplifying our voices as if we were in an auditorium or cathedral.

On this chilly January morning, aspects of design, environment, aesthetics, and acoustics aligned to create a unique and meaningful experience of health and wellness for young and old alike.

For all that is,