La Mécanique de Noël is a 20-meter interactive installation designed by Hellène Gaulier and Gwénolé Gasnier of Agence GG for the refectory of Fontevraud Abbey, in France. Conceived as a large communal table, the project explores the sensory and mechanical dimensions of festive gatherings through an assemblage of interactive devices, blown glass elements, lighting, sound, and scent.

The installation draws reference from both lived and imagined Christmas meals, translating familiar rituals into a spatial and mechanical composition. Rather than focusing solely on food, the table incorporates the broader environment of a festive dinner, including decoration, movement, sound, and atmosphere. A series of mechanical systems animates glass objects, triggers light sequences, and releases scents, creating a layered sensory experience distributed along the length of the table.

Visitors are invited to engage directly with the installation through buttons, levers, and handles embedded within the structure. These controls activate different elements of the table, producing variations in sound, light, and motion. The interaction introduces unpredictability, allowing the environment to shift continuously as multiple participants contribute to the sequence of events. The installation thus operates as a collective mechanism, shaped in real time by visitor participation.

blow a name into the microphone to light a candle | all images courtesy of Agence GG

Blown Glass and Mechanics adorn the festive table by Agence GG

Set within the historic context of Fontevraud Abbey, the project establishes a dialogue between contemporary mechanical design and the architectural setting of the refectory. References to traditional winter imagery, such as fireplaces, festive lighting, and ceremonial table settings, are abstracted into mechanical and sensory cues rather than literal scenography. Blown glass components play a central role, functioning as both decorative and interactive elements within the system.

Developed by Hellène Gaulier and Gwénolé Gasnier of Studio Agence GG in collaboration with the Abbey of Fontevraud and the CIAV of Meisenthal, the project is the result of a year-long process involving partners across several regions of France. By combining mechanics, glassmaking, and interactive design, La Mécanique de Noël constructs an immersive environment that examines collective rituals through participation, material experimentation, and controlled sensory complexity.

overview of the 20-meter table in the heart of the refectory of the Royal Abbey of Fontevraud

blown glass Snowstorm to be operated with cranks

grilled chicken odor diffusion device

crane for micro glass fly feast

blown glass Snowstorm to be operated with cranks

sand lock carafe, making life gluttonous

machine to toast glasses

take a seat to put on the suit

Hellène Gaulier and Gwénolé Gasnier of Agence GG with La Mécanique de Noël Christmas table

project info:

name: La Mécanique de Noël – Interactive Christmas Table
designer: Agence GG | @agencegg
lead designers: Hellène Gaulier & Gwénolé Gasnier

location: Fontevraud-l’Abbaye, France

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

The post sensory machines of glass, light and sound animate 20-meter interactive christmas table appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Eden – Abu Dhabi Edition is a large-scale installation by artist Pamela Tan of Poh Sin Studio that examines the relationship between constructed environments and natural forms. Drawing conceptual reference from the mythical Garden of Eden, the project presents an abstracted landscape composed of organic structures and controlled material language.

The pavilion is conceived as an immersive, all-white environment that emphasizes form, texture, and spatial sequence. Through the enlargement and repetition of natural motifs, the work encourages close observation of subtle details and alters conventional perceptions of scale. The restrained palette and sculptural composition create a calm spatial atmosphere, defined by continuity rather than enclosure.

image by Nada Alkarra

Eden airy installation emerges from the Desert Context

For its Abu Dhabi edition, Eden extends beyond an indoor exhibition context and is situated within the desert landscape. Positioned directly on sand, the installation introduces a contrasting spatial condition, where a garden-like structure emerges within an arid environment. The work appears as a temporary presence, shifting in perception between visibility and disappearance as lighting and atmospheric conditions change from night to day. This juxtaposition between a constructed landscape and its desert setting establishes a dialogue between abundance and scarcity, permanence and impermanence.

The installation by artist Pamela Tan of Poh Sin Studio is experienced outdoors under the open sky. At night, its white structural elements reflect artificial light, forming a luminous field against the surrounding darkness. Organic passages and vine-like arches guide movement through the space, while the overall composition maintains a low, horizontal profile that responds to the stillness of the desert context.

image by Poh Sin Studio

Suspended system constructs a Temporary open canopy

Structurally, Eden is defined by a suspended, cloud-like canopy composed of hanging vine elements. This canopy acts as both the primary architectural feature and the main structural system. The form originated through an intuitive design process and was later refined through engineering analysis, in which its curvature was translated into a truss-based framework. Computational simulations were used to ensure structural stability under desert conditions while maintaining visual lightness. The installation operates as a hybrid between sculpture and architecture, where form and structure are developed simultaneously. Hanging vines, arched elements, and dispersed glass spheres contribute to a spatial environment that responds to light, movement, and viewpoint, producing a variable sensory experience throughout the day and night.

All steel components are designed as a flat-pack system, allowing for efficient transportation, installation, dismantling, and reassembly in different locations. The modular construction employs interlocking joints, slip-lock connections, and bolt-and-nut assemblies, enabling precise on-site assembly while supporting flexibility and reuse. This approach addresses logistical constraints associated with remote sites and reinforces the project’s adaptability as a temporary spatial installation.

image by Nada Alkarra

image by Poh Sin Studio

image by Lancer Gerber, courtesy of Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi

image by Lancer Gerber, courtesy of Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi

image by Lancer Gerber, courtesy of Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi

image by Lancer Gerber, courtesy of Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi

image by Lancer Gerber, courtesy of Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi

image by Lancer Gerber, courtesy of Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi

image by Lancer Gerber, courtesy of Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi

image by Lancer Gerber, courtesy of Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi

image by Lancer Gerber, courtesy of Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi

image by Lancer Gerber, courtesy of Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi

image by Lancer Gerber, courtesy of Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi

image by Lancer Gerber, courtesy of Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi

image by Lancer Gerber, courtesy of Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi

image by Lancer Gerber, courtesy of Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi

image by Lancer Gerber, courtesy of Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi

image by Lancer Gerber, courtesy of Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi

project info:

name: Eden – Abu Dhabi Edition (2025)
designer: Pamela Tan – Poh Sin Studio | @pohsin_studio

location: Abu Dhabi, UAE

photographer: Lancer Gerber, Nada Alkarra, Poh Sin Studio

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

The post cloud-like white canopy of hanging vines emerges from abu dhabi’s arid landscape appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Carsten Höller installs Pink Mirror Carousel on the ice rink of the Kulm Hotel St. Moritz this winter, introducing a slowed, reflective amusement structure to the Alpine resort. Clad in pink mirrored panels and precisely calibrated to complete a full rotation every two minutes, the work takes a familiar fairground structure and transforms it into an immersive sculptural environment that folds time, movement, and spectatorship into a disorienting experience set against the Engadin landscape.

Installed outdoors on the hotel’s ice rink, Pink Mirror Carousel continues Höller’s long-standing engagement with amusement rides as what he calls ‘confusion machines.’ Rather than delivering speed or thrill, the carousel deliberately slows the body down. Its rotation becomes almost meditative, encouraging riders to register duration, repetition, and anticipation as material conditions. The structure is composed of twelve identical mirrored segments arranged as a dodecagon, reflecting skaters, riders, the surrounding mountains, and the carousel itself in shifting fragments. 

all images courtesy of Kulm Hotel St. Moritz

Pink Mirror Carousel rotates on the Kulm Hotel ice rink

While earlier carousel works by Höller have required up to twenty-four hours for a single turn, the St. Moritz installation completes its cycle in exactly two minutes. This double minute references the carousel’s counter-rotating elements, with the top turning counter-clockwise and the middle section rotating clockwise. The result is a subtle but persistent sense of misalignment, where mechanical precision and bodily perception never fully sync. As Baldo Hauser, the Belgian artist’s alter ego, notes, the work functions as ‘a sculpture with people inside, animating the inanimate, the mechanical, the lifeless rotation with the realness of human bodies being transported through their own biological time.’

Music curated by the Kulm Hotel’s directeur d’ambiance, Arman Naféei, accompanies the skating rink, layering sound into the experience. Open to both hotel guests and the public, the installation operates as a shared, temporary situation.

Carsten Höller installs Pink Mirror Carousel on the ice rink of the Kulm Hotel St. Moritz

Pink Mirror Carousel continues Höller’s long-standing engagement with amusement rides

its rotation becomes almost meditative, encouraging riders to register duration

composed of twelve identical mirrored segments

reflecting skaters, riders, the surrounding mountains

Carsten Höller at the Kulm Hotel St. Moritz, Switzerland

project info:

name: Pink Mirror Carousel

artist: Carsten Höller | @carsten.holler

location: Kulm Hotel St. Moritz | @kulmhotel, St. Moritz, Switzerland

The post carsten höller’s pink mirrored carousel slows rotation to stretch time in the alps appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

The Christmas Festival of Bad Habits is a temporary public-space installation located on Římské náměstí in the historic center of Brno, Czech Republic. Developed by architectural studio Peer Collective in collaboration with artist Kateřina Šedá, the non-profit organization Renadi, and the Brno-střed Municipal District, the project reconsiders the spatial and social format of the traditional Christmas market. Instead of retail-driven programming, the installation introduces a structured environment for reflection, movement, and collective experience.

The project occupies a long-overlooked urban site adjacent to Františkánská Street, transforming the square into a calm, barrier-free environment during the holiday season. Its conceptual framework draws from Šedá’s long-term participatory project, The National Collection of Bad Habits, which examines everyday behaviors and shared social patterns. This material informs a guided spatial sequence designed as a path of self-reflection through the square.

Peer Collective’s architectural intervention consists of a lightweight, temporary structure made from modular truss systems commonly used in stage construction. From this framework, large red and white curtains are suspended, subdividing the square into eighteen open-air ‘rooms.’ These spaces create a sequence of thresholds, passages, and partial enclosures that encourage slow movement and individual engagement. The curtains operate as soft architectural elements, forming spatial boundaries without fully enclosing the space and maintaining visual continuity with the surrounding city.

all images by Matej Hakár unless stated otherwise

An Urban Interior for Reflection and Collective Experience

The installation covers approximately 2,478 sqm and functions as an urban interior within the public realm. During evening hours, the white curtain surfaces serve as projection screens for text-based testimonies derived from The National Collection of Bad Habits. These projections, combined with subdued lighting and ambient sound, transform the square into an open-air exhibition environment that blurs the distinction between public space and personal reflection. At the center of the spatial sequence is a freestanding ‘confessional’ structure composed of six individual booths. Replacing the conventional market stall, this element serves as the focal point of the installation. Visitors are invited to enter the booths to record or reflect on personal habits, contributing to a collective audiovisual system that aggregates individual input into a shared narrative. Circulation routes guide visitors back around the curtain perimeter, completing the spatial loop and returning them to the surrounding urban fabric.

Accessibility and inclusion form a key part of the project’s spatial strategy. The ground surface of the square was leveled with fine gravel to create a barrier-free environment suitable for wheelchair users, parents with strollers, and visitors with limited mobility. The installation operates without alcohol sales, reinforcing its role as a sober and inclusive public setting during the holiday period. Local residents also participated in preparing the site through a community event prior to the festival. Through temporary architecture, minimal material intervention, and participatory content, the Christmas Festival of Bad Habits demonstrates how seasonal urban installations can shift emphasis from consumption to spatial experience, reflection, and shared presence. The project positions architecture as a framework for social interaction, using adaptable construction systems and soft boundaries to reshape public space in the city center. Designed by architectural studio Peer Collective in collaboration with artist Kateřina Šedá, the installation is on view from December 9th to December 31st, 2025.

the temporary installation reinterprets the traditional Christmas market as a space for reflection

a long-overlooked urban square is reactivated as a calm public environment

the installation functions as an urban interior within the public realm

the Christmas Festival of Bad Habits occupies Římské náměstí in Brno’s historic center

red and white curtains subdivide the square into eighteen open-air rooms

modular truss systems form the lightweight structural framework

the installation replaces retail stalls with a guided spatial sequence

a central confessional structure anchors the spatial sequence

the project was developed by Peer Collective with artist Kateřina Šedá and local partners

temporary architecture frames social interaction without permanent intervention

circulation routes expand beyond the central installation before returning to the city

white curtain surfaces become projection screens after dark | image by Jan Urbášek

project info:

name: Christmas Festival of Bad Habits
architect: Peer Collective | @peer.archi

art concept: Kateřina Šedá | @katerinaseda.cz

location: Římské náměstí, Františkánská ulice, Brno, Czech Republic

dates: December 9th–December 31st, 2025

built-up area: 1784 sqm

client: Brno-střed Municipal District

lead designers: Daniel Struhařík, Georgi Dimitrov, Ondřej Válek [Peer Collective] + Kateřina Šedá

design team: Vojtěch Heralecký, Jakub Čevela, Jan Urbášek, Radim Koutný, Monika Matějkovičová, Aneta Báčová

idea initiator: Renadi | @renadibrno

graphic design: Kristína Drinková

editors: Lucie Faulerová, Petra Konečná

interactive concept: Zkrat kolektiv | @zkrat.kolektiv

production: Martin Ondruš, David Ondra, Lenka Holenda Jirků, Michal Ondráček, Petr Štika, Martina Pokorná, Radim Preuss

structure contractor: Kletch CZ

curtain supplier: Kubíček Factory

contractor of the confessional: Georgi Dimitrov

projector supplier: Jaroslav Zelina

photographer: Matej Hakár | @matejhakar

night photos: Jan Urbášek [Peer Collective]

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

The post red and white curtains transform czech historic center’s pathways into christmas installation appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Chaume Sublimé is an ephemeral installation by COAT – conditions atmosphériques d’espaces, created for the Festival des Architectures Vives 2025 in Montpellier, France. The project investigates the spatial and sensory potential of reed grass, using the material to form an atmosphere-driven architectural intervention that examines craftsmanship, sustainability, and the transformation of everyday resources.

The installation is composed of two opposing walls placed within the courtyard of the Hôtel des Trésoriers de la Bourse. Each wall presents two contrasting sides, interpreting both the external street-facing facade and the internal courtyard facade. This duality parallels the relationship between plate and food in contemporary haute cuisine, where the support and the content form a unified composition. The exterior faces form a minimal, monochrome envelope, while the interior faces carry the textural and sensory expression. The arrangement defines an intermediate zone that becomes a focal exploration space for visitors.

Reed grass forms the primary material. It is deployed in distinct configurations to articulate the contrast between exterior and interior. A regular grid of thatch-filled pillows establishes a controlled facade, punctuated by circular openings that offer partial views toward the interior and encourage interaction. Stacked sheaves of thatch introduce varied textures and colors. Natural dyes, such as coffee grounds, turmeric, and root-based pigments, add chromatic shifts and subtle olfactory qualities that extend into the surrounding street. The lightweight bundles respond to air movement and visitor passage, producing temporary sensory effects. Recognizable architectural elements from the courtyard context are incorporated subtly into this inner surface, establishing a direct connection between installation and site.

all images by Paul Kozlowski – photoarchitecture unless stated otherwise

Two opposing walls frame the reed-based installation by COAT

The design facilitates an open-ended exploration of smell, touch, and visual variation. Openings in the exterior layer frame initial glimpses, while the interior’s flexible thatch components allow for close engagement. Movement through the installation results in slight displacement of the reed bundles, generating short, individualized spatial moments. Children in particular may engage with the structure intuitively, exploring textures, scents, and views. Reed is sourced from the Camargue region near Montpellier and from Lake Neusiedl near Vienna, where the installation was developed. The material’s ecological qualities, compostability, renewability, and local availability, frame the project’s environmental approach.

Two self-supporting walls form the structural system, designed by studio COAT – conditions atmosphériques d’espaces. The wooden framework uses standard beam lengths to minimize waste and relies on mechanical joints for disassembly and reuse. Scaffolding feet allow adaptation to various site conditions, facilitating potential reinstallation at future events. The stacked reed sheaves are held within a 13.5 cm-deep frame and stabilized by vertical metal cables, while shredded reed offcuts are repurposed as infill for the exterior pillows.

the installation’s exterior face articulates itself as a monochrome grid of thatch-filled pillows

material duality shaped by culinary and architectural sequences

Responding to the festival’s theme of gourmandize, the pleasure of tasting, interpreted through the lens of haute cuisine, the installation explores how an ordinary ecological material can be reworked and presented to reveal new tactile and atmospheric properties. The structure introduces two contrasting conditions: a restrained, uniform exterior and a textured, sensory interior. This duality encourages passers-by to enter, observe, and experience the material at close range. Compostable and reusable components support circularity and material awareness within architectural practice. The project draws parallels between the sequential experience of tasting in haute cuisine, presentation, anticipation, and tasting, and a spatial journey through architectural space. Reed grass becomes a parallel to a culinary ingredient that is transformed through technique to expose latent characteristics.

This conceptual structure is paired with a reinterpretation of courtyard typology. The courtyard, positioned between public street and private interior, traditionally provides a gradual transition and a moment of sensory shift. The installation adopts this principle, offering glimpses from the outside and a full experience only once inside. Its internal surface references the architectural language of the Hôtel des Trésoriers de la Bourse, whose courtyard facades display the layered contributions of architects Gallières, Sartre, Daviler, and Bonnier. These references are integrated into the installation’s inner face, encouraging close visual inspection of details.

the installation’s sober exterior contrasts with an intriguing, tactile, and sensory interior

playful exploration leads children and adults alike to intuitively interact with the installation | image by COAT

the installation’s configuration invites everyone to engage in a sensory exploration | image by COAT

the circular perforations offer glimpses of the interior, sparking curiosity and the desire to discover

the exterior face is punctuated by circular openings

thatch-filled pillows form a regular grid across the exterior facade

children search for smells, textures, and views, being physically immersed in the soft thatch

as visitors move through the installation‘s interior, the thatch envelopes them and creates intimate moments of interaction

the installation creates an olfactory atmosphere extending beyond the courtyard into the nearby street

the stacked sheaves of thatch are partly colored with natural dyes such as coffee grounds and turmeric

the installation’s interior is a sensual expression of texture, color, and materiality

recognizable elements of the courtyard are subtly integrated into the design | image by COAT

project info:

name: Chaume Sublimé
designer: COAT – conditions atmosphériques d’espaces | @studio_coat

event: Festival des Architectures Vives 2025 | @festivaldesarchitecturesvives

location: Montpellier, France

photographer: Paul Kozlowski – photoarchitecture | @photoarchitecture.co, COAT

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

The post mirroring pillowed walls filled with reed grass compose sensory installation in montpellier appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Distance, a thread installation by Choi+Shine for the 2025 Hangzhou Fibre Art Triennial, examines how spatial perception shapes connection. Developed in collaboration with local communities and supported by the China Academy of Art, the project aligns with the Triennial’s theme, Re-Constellation, which reflects on how constellations, constructed relationships between distant stars, serve as collective frameworks rather than physical realities.

The installation extends this idea by considering how contemporary social conditions influence the way people orient themselves and form networks. The work employs perspectival illusion and foreshortening to emphasize viewer position, using spatial distortion to reduce both physical and perceived distance. Materially, the project centers on lace, a textile associated with precision, labour, and traditional craftsmanship. While often viewed as delicate, lace requires sustained effort and technical skill. Its structure, formed through interlinked threads, operates as a symbolic and material analogy for connection across different groups and contexts. Community involvement was integral to the making process, positioning crocheting craft as a shared activity and redistributing authorship across participants.

all images courtesy of Choi+Shine

Interlinked Threads Form Spatial Narrative in ‘Distance’

Suspended above a dark pool of water, the installation consists of crocheted forms representing the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac. The Zodiac functions as a cultural system linked to identity, timekeeping, and communal orientation. In the installation, each element is complete on its own but becomes part of a larger composition when viewed along a central axis, where the arrangement aligns into a recognisable zodiac circle. This spatial organisation incorporates parallax, allowing the forms to shift in relation to one another as the viewer moves.

The interaction with water introduces reflective surfaces that alter depth perception. The reflections blur visual boundaries, generating a secondary image layer that complicates the distinction between object and environment. For Choi+Shine Studio, light plays a central role in the installation’s behaviour: the contrast between the white lace and the dark water produces chiaroscuro effects, while shadows projected onto the museum walls extend the work beyond the suspended forms. The openings in the lace create repeating geometric patterns, adding another visual layer as light shifts across the surface.

the installation explores how spatial perception influences human connection

lace structures highlight the precision and labour embedded in traditional craft

parallax effects cause the forms to shift as visitors move around the space

the installation uses perspectival distortion to emphasize the viewer’s position

suspended lace forms depict the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac

interlinked threads create a material analogy for social and cultural networks

the project connects local craftsmanship with contemporary spatial practices

each zodiac figure stands independently, yet aligns into a circle when viewed head-on

a dark reflective pool below the work alters depth perception

light and shadow extend the installation onto the museum walls

the crocheted surfaces create geometric patterns as light moves across them

crocheted figures emphasise both cultural symbolism and material construction

contrasts between white lace and dark water produce strong chiaroscuro effects

reflections blur the boundaries between object, viewer, and environment

viewers become part of the composition through movement and shifting perspectives

the installation transforms traditional lacework into large-scale spatial structures

water reflections generate a secondary image layer beneath the suspended forms

project info:

name: Distance
designers: Choi+Shine | @choishinearch

lead designers: Jin Choi + Thomas Shine
structural design: Thomas Shine

frame fabrication: 魏濤 Wei Tao

installation: 魏濤 Wei Tao, 康俊彦 Kang Kang and his team, 浙江美术馆 Zhejiang Art Museum Staff and Volunteers

assistant curator: 李军毓 Dr Junyu Li

co-curator: 黄燕 Prof Yan Huang

co-curator: 黄燕 Prof Yan Huang

artistic director: 施慧 Shi Hui

exhibition director: 应金飞 Jinfei Ying

special thanks to: Zhejiang Art Museum Chloe Wu, 中国美术学院 China Academy of Art, Volunteer Group Leaders: 吴沁 Wu Qin, 萧潇 Xiao Xiao, 朱亦楚 Zhu Yichu, 张倩雯 Zhang Qianwen, 王子若 Wang Ziruo, 单子芬 Shan Zifen, 朱晨希 Zhu Chenxi, 王嘉琦 Wang Jiaqi, 125 Volunteer Participants

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

The post choi+shine and volunteers crochet twelve zodiac animals in one suspended lace installation appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

A meadow of 8,800 mirrored flowers sounds like a fantasy, but for studio mo man tai it becomes a data-driven portrait of the Netherlands. Their installation, Reflecting Diverseness, transforms national demographic figures into a shimmering, immersive landscape where light, reflection, and statistics fold into one another. What begins as a glittering visual spectacle quietly reveals a precise socio-political dataset, rethinking how information can be felt before it is understood.

Instead of presenting numbers through charts or graphics, visitors step into a darkened space where every mirrored petal scatters light across the room, only later discovering that each bloom represents a distinct group within the country’s population. The result is a work that disarms through beauty, then invites reflection using sensory surprise to re-engage with themes often flattened by repetitive or misleading communication.

all images courtesy of studio mo man tai

8,800 mirrored flowers compose Reflecting Diverseness

Eindhoven-based studio mo man tai recasts statistical data on the Netherlands’ population into a luminous, handcrafted landscape of more than 8,800 mirrored flowers. Titled Reflecting Diverseness, the installation transforms socio-political figures from the Centraal Bureau van Statistiek (CBS) into a vast, pixelated meadow where each bloom corresponds to a specific demographic group. Roughly one in four residents of the country has (partial) origins outside the Netherlands, while 72.1 percent have two parents born locally; this balance between multiplicity and rootedness becomes the conceptual backbone of the work. 

Entering the dimly lit space, viewers encounter a shimmering expanse of mirror fragments, arranged into flower-like forms and densely assembled across the floor. The initial reaction is almost always visual as phones rise, selfies snap, and the iridescent surface of the field becomes a backdrop. It is only afterwards, through conversation or a closer look, that the underlying dataset emerges. Studio mo man tai considers this moment of delayed recognition essential. The installation challenges how socio-political information is typically communicated, often repetitively and sometimes manipulatively, and suggests that unfamiliar visual languages can restore attention, nuance, and curiosity.

Reflecting Diverseness transforms national demographic figures into a shimmering, immersive landscape

studio mo man tai reuses discarded acrylic

The project continues the studio’s long-running practice of translating datasets into experimental, optimistic visual forms. Here, leftover acrylic mirror sheets act as both medium and message. Laser-cut shapes, organized to minimize waste, are assembled by hand into flowers whose facets fracture and scatter light across the room. Under a few strategically positioned spotlights, the mirrored meadow comes alive with glimmers that shift as viewers move. This intentional visual lightness offsets the seriousness of the theme, creating an encounter that is playful at first glance but grounded in real demographic complexity.

Sustainability is folded into the spectacle. What was once discarded material becomes part of a choreographed system of reflections. Each petal catches highlights differently, producing waves of sparkle that animate surrounding surfaces. The resulting atmosphere feels almost ethereal, an environment in which statistics become sensorial, and recycling becomes narrative rather than merely functional. The studio frames this approach as a poetic confrontation with resourcefulness, perception, and craft.

The physical installation is constructed from 175 numbered boxes, each containing 50 flowers that represent a statistical cross-section of the Dutch population based on 2024 CBS data. After its presentation at Pennings Foundation, a selection of these boxed sets will be available at the Fenix museum shop in Rotterdam, with additional sets purchasable directly from the studio. Each box includes a certificate of authenticity and contextual information, preserving the dual nature of the work as both data visualization and crafted collectible.

light, reflection, and statistics fold into one another

rethinking how information can be felt before it is understood

visitors step into a darkened space where every mirrored petal scatters light across the room

each bloom represents a distinct group within the country’s population

inviting reflection using sensory surprise

engaging with themes often flattened by repetitive or misleading communication

a luminous, handcrafted landscape of more than 8,800 mirrored flowers

the installation transforms socio-political figures from the Centraal Bureau van Statistiek

viewers encounter a shimmering expanse of mirror fragments

leftover acrylic mirror sheets act as both medium and message

facets fracture and scatter light across the room

laser-cut shapes, organized to minimize waste, are assembled by hand into flowers

suggesting that unfamiliar visual languages can restore attention, nuance, and curiosity

translating datasets into experimental, optimistic visual forms

the physical installation is constructed from 175 numbered boxes, each containing 50 flowers

project info:

name: Reflecting Diverseness

artist: studio mo man tai | @studio.mo.man.tai

The post 8,800 discarded acrylic flowers reflect the netherlands’ demographic diverseness appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Relic installation for Noor Riyadh in Saudi Arabia builds on Karolina Halatek’s previous site-specific piece in Metz, redefining the concept of a monument. The pyramid-shaped structure emits a sky-tracing beam of white light through mist and mirrored surfaces, creating a serene gathering place. As visitors approach the sculptural composition, they are reflected, illuminated, and transformed. The public artwork invites each person to acknowledge their own presence and significance, momentarily becoming a living monument and an active participant in co-creating history. Combining modern aesthetics and technology with evocative form, Relic serves not as a historical tribute but as a participatory space for reflection and transformation.

a pyramid-shaped structure emits a vertical beam of white light | image courtesy of Noor Riyadh Festival

Karolina Halatek Reimagines Monument as interactive Experience

Karolina Halatek’s works are catalysts for experience. Using light as her central medium, she creates site-specific installations that integrate visual, architectural, and sculptural elements. She studied Design for Performance at UAL (UK), Fine Arts at UdK Berlin, and Media Art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Poland, and took part in Olafur Eliasson’s Institut für Raumexperimente. The Polish artist is a PhD candidate at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow and a visiting researcher at the Lighting Lab, Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen. The installation was produced by TETRO+A agency and exhibited at the fifth edition of the Noor Riyadh festival titled ‘In the Blink of an Eye,’ Saudi Arabia, 2025.

mist and mirrored surfaces frame a sky-tracing column of illumination | image courtesy of Noor Riyadh Festival

the piece encourages collective engagement and shared experience | image courtesy of Karolina Halatek

the installation forms a quiet gathering point within the festival | image courtesy of Karolina Halatek

light and mist subtly transform each person entering the space | image courtesy of Karolina Halatek

the work invites visitors to recognize their own presence | image courtesy of Karolina Halatek

participants momentarily become part of a living monument | image courtesy of Karolina Halatek

Relic blends contemporary aesthetics with technological precision | image courtesy of Karolina Halatek

the work acts as a participatory space rather than a traditional monument | image courtesy of Karolina Halatek

project info:

name: Relic for Noor Riyadh

artist: Karolina Halatek | @karolinahalatek

location: Qasr Al Hokm Metro Station, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

materials: steel, stainless steel, acrylic

dimensions: 300 x 600 (base diameter)

event: Noor Riyadh Festival | @noorriyadhfestival

production: TETRO+A | @tetro_agency

special thanks to: Nouf Almoneef | @nouf.almoneef, Riyadh Art | @riyadhartofficial, Matthieu Debay | @mattdebay, Nicolas Roziecki | @hyvn, Matteo Messina | @mttmex, Adrien Jolivet | @adrisocialbot, Gabriel Ducolombier | @rielgabzz, Lavínia D. Freitas | @lavinfreitas, m5iw | @m5iw

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

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In the historic courtyard of Montpellier’s Hôtel de Rozel, Studio Deng unveils The Tasting Tongue, an installation for the 2025 Festival des Architectures Vives (FAV) that imagines what happens when every object holds an invisible tongue. A metallic foil form drips from a windowsill into the small stone courtyard, carrying 130 pink felt ‘taste buds’ that sway in the breeze and invite visitors to insert, bend, and rearrange them. By encouraging this gentle interaction, the piece becomes a shifting archive of shared flavor memories and turns the intimate site into a playful experiment in collective sensory fiction.

the entrance of the historic courtyard | images © Studio Deng, unless stated otherwise

a reflective ‘invisible tongue’ and its field of 130 taste buds

Studio Deng’s project begins with a simple provocation: ‘What if built elements could taste their surroundings?’. The New York-based design team envisions columns, windows, and flowerbeds each extending their own quiet sensorium, capable of perceiving the wetness of grass after rain or the crackle of popping candy carried on the wind. Selected as one of the winning teams for the Festival des Architectures Vives, the designers sought an intervention that could activate the compact residential courtyard without overwhelming it. Their response was to materialize this imagined ‘invisible tongue’ as a reflective, flowing sheet of metal that catches shifting light and weather while offering a surface for collective participation.

From this shimmering form sprout 130 playful taste buds in four types (sweet, sour, bitter, and salty) modeled after micrographs of human taste receptors. Crafted from soft pink felt typically used for hamster nests, they add a humorous and tactile dimension to the installation. Visitors are invited to choose a bud and place it into the tongue’s surface, a simple gesture that transforms the act of tasting into a spatial, collaborative ritual.

the imaginative associations came directly from the public | image © Paul Kozlowski

FROM FESTIVAL INSTALLATION TO ART-EDUCATION LEGACY

Over the course of the festival, the courtyard evolves continuously: children twist the buds into new shapes, neighbors return to observe its transformations, and passersby compare the ‘flavors’ they contribute. The result is a living, communal map of sensory impressions, blurring the boundary between observer and object.

The Tasting Tongue later traveled to the chamber room of a 14th-century monastery for Architecture en Fête, where the reflective form adapted to a new historic environment. After both exhibitions, Studio Deng donated all the metal sheets and felt components to Children’s Relay for use in art-education programs—extending the installation’s speculative tongue into future hands and contexts.

visitors pick their own taste buds | image © Paul Kozlowski

the Tasting Tongue glides and dances across the courtyard wall

kids interact with the taste bud | image © Paul Kozlowski

a metallic foil form drips from a windowsill into the small stone courtyard | image © Paul Kozlowski

in the daytime, the tongue captured changing reflections of the sky and courtyard | image © Paul Kozlowski

children’s hands bend and place the pink felt taste buds onto the reflective tongue | image © Studio Deng

tasting is both personal and shared — a way the body perceives space and time | image © Paul Kozlowski

an elder’s hand inserts a soft taste bud into the shifting field of pink forms

at night, the tongue catches the warm orange glow spilling from the residents’ windows | image © Studio Deng

plan perspective | image © Studio Deng

project info:

name: The Tasting Tongue

artist: Studio Deng | @studio_deng_

lead designers: Meichen Wang, Qicheng Wu

location: Hôtel de Rozel courtyard, Montpellier, France

festival: Festival des Architectures Vives (FAV) 2025

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: myrto katsikopoulou | designboom

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Black Void presents its first solo exhibition, The Sky, Oscillating, at the historic Bund·City Hall as part of the 24th China Shanghai International Arts Festival. The interdisciplinary collective, founded and directed by Yixuan Cai, with partner Yuhan Xiao and core member Yun Hong, brings together practitioners from digital media, architecture, data science, and music. The exhibition gathers more than ten works developed across three years of research, using light, atmospheric data, and spatial installation to examine the relationship between natural systems and human-made infrastructures.

Set within the century-old building in Shanghai, the exhibition uses the existing architecture as an active framework. Daylight passing through the hall’s arched windows gradually shifts the atmosphere from gold to orange to blue, creating a temporal backdrop for three chapters: Stellar Solar Impulse, Extraterrestrial Life, and Atmospheric Echo. Moving shadows and projected visual layers interact with the stone surfaces, linking historical materiality with the exhibition’s focus on environmental change. The curatorial approach centers on clouds, carbon, light, and electricity, elements treated not as effects but as carriers of information. The works trace how these natural forces are reshaped by industrial production, digital networks, global energy systems, and conflict. Solar radiation becomes electrical output through silicon wafers; human activity contributes aerosols, emissions, micro-particles, and electromagnetic signals to the atmosphere; and speculative biological agents on Mars highlight future intersections between ecology and technology.

The Burning Iris, installation close-up, 2025 | all images courtesy of Black Void

Black Void Visualizes Hidden Energies Behind Our Technologies

One newly debuted work by creative studio Black Void examines the ‘politics of heat and light’ through a system that combines photovoltaic data, information-infrastructure records, and solar-activity measurements. Using ecological, energy, and computational data from Phoenix, Arizona (2014–2024), the installation presents a dual-ring structure: the inner ring responds to photovoltaic generation and data-center electricity consumption, while the outer ring visualizes sunspot activity and temperature. The system reflects the dependency of digital operations on environmental conditions, illustrating how solar power, heat waves, and sandstorms can affect energy supply and communication systems. Another work draws from glassblowing processes, likening the stress patterns within cooled glass to the distribution of heat and light in natural systems. Under optical devices, each piece refracts the tension generated between hot and cold states, suggesting parallels with cycles of energy dissipation in living organisms. A separate installation investigates Martian fungi through digital simulation, ecological modeling, and speculative archaeology. Using generative software, the team imagines fungal forms adapting to radiation, electromagnetic waves, and mineral substrates. The piece includes a digital growth system, 3D-printed sculptures, a Martian meteorite (Shergottite, provided by 4.5B Interstellar Lab), and a film set within an orange-red environment.

The Burning Iris, installation, 2025

Rendering Global Climate Shifts in Color, Motion, and Mist

The exhibition concludes with a chapter that shifts attention from outer space back to Earth’s atmosphere. Based on Copernicus satellite data, the work analyzes atmospheric changes during events such as the Amazon wildfires, the Russia-Ukraine war, and Los Angeles smog episodes. Using ten years of data from 300 global cities, including greenhouse-gas concentrations, aerosol levels, humidity, and geolocation, the design team generates digital cloud sculptures that translate atmospheric conditions into form, color, and motion. This final section also includes a multimedia theater piece combining indoor cloud-generation techniques, microclimate control, and audiovisual components. Thermal sensors and controlled airflow operate as spatial tools, producing clouds that accumulate and disperse in response to environmental parameters.

Throughout the exhibition, Black Void positions natural elements as information systems. Clouds register environmental change through condensation cycles; sunlight interacts with technological infrastructure via photovoltaic surfaces; and computational processes release heat back into the environment. By examining these exchanges, the collective highlights the interdependence between natural instability and technological regulation. Black Void’s research extends beyond the exhibition venue, involving fieldwork at solar-thermal facilities in Delingha (Qinghai), the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station, and Shenzhen’s mangrove reserves, as well as collaborations with meteorological institutions, photovoltaic networks, and meteorite laboratories. This cross-disciplinary approach forms the foundation of The Sky, Oscillating, positioning the exhibition at the intersection of environmental data, spatial installation, and material research.

The Burning Iris, installation, close-up, 2025

‘Phoenix, Flowing into the Mouth of Computation’ Solarcene series, data-driven generative video installation, 2025

‘Phoenix, Flowing into the Mouth of Computation’ Solarcene series, data-driven generative video installation, 2025

‘Phoenix, Flowing into the Mouth of Computation’ Solarcene series, data-driven generative video still, 2025

Biosphere 3, Installation, The Sky, Oscillating exhibition, 2025

Biosphere 3, film, The Sky, Oscillating exhibition, 2025

Twin Cloud-London, Digital Art, Black Void, 2024

The Sky, Oscillating exhibition, Clouds Memoir, Video Poem Still, Black Void

Twin Cloud, Video Still, Black Void, 2022-2025

The Sky, Oscillating exhibition, Clouds Memoir, Video Poem Still, Black Void

Clouds Memoir, Video Poem Still, Black Void

project info:

name: The Sky, Oscillating / Solo Exhibition

artist: Black Void | @bv_blackvoid

event: The 24th China Shanghai International Arts Festival

venue: Bund Former City Hall, 223 Hankou Road, Shanghai, China

dates: October 31st – November 23rd, 2025

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

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