Pentagram’s vibrant new window installation that demystifies genomics

Created by graphic designer and film-maker Marina Willer, of design studio Pentagram, the eye-catching graphics translate a pattern from Huntington’s Disease into a sequence of colourful stripes, each representing an amino acid (protein building block) and the different DNA sequences (codons) that produce it. Stretching across just over 51 metres of the building’s windows, the mutation in the sequence becomes clearer as the viewer navigates the display, helping to demystify genomics and our understanding of the science behind it.

The translucent vinyl application was chosen to evoke associations with stained-glass clad places of worship, celebrating the Wellcome Trust as a place of scientific reverence, and shining a light on genomics and its role in the healing of illness and disease.

The installation will be on display at the foundation’s building is on the corner of two major London roads – Euston Road and Gower Street – for the next 6 months.