Cloud Arch was conceived in 2014 with the idea of bequeathing the city the signature landmark it needed to herald the new era of light rail and pedestrianisation – as, perhaps, only an artist with one foot in the camp of architecture could have done. In 2014, George Street, the main north-south artery of central Sydney, was in the process of being transformed through the implementation of the new light rail system. Cloud Arch would function as a gateway, allowing trains and people to pass under it. lt would be visible from across the city. The large swell made by the loop of the arch would frame Town Hall, the Queen Victoria Building, and all the important monuments and buildings at the heart of the city that are significant to people. By locating Cloud Arch at the very heart of the city centre at Town Hall Square and at the midpoint of the newly pedestrianised George Street, it would become the signature entrance gate to the newly transformed pedestrian street and a true icon for Sydney.
In her statement at the time of the announcement, Flynn would remind people that there is no rule for evaluating public art. There is no one right or wrong answer or opinion about it. She maintained this was one of the special attributes of a work like Cloud Arch: that it invites commentary and open discussion. Artists like Ishigami embrace that sort of discussion and the fact that people bring their own personal histories and views to the works they have made.
In so many ways, Ishigami was the perfect choice of artist for Sydney: forward-looking, ambitious and visionary like the city itself. An innovator who has captured the imagination of people worldwide, he would create a new form of civic monument with Sydney as the lucky beneficiary.