It’s always fun to see public art things that people can actually touch and interact with. Where I live that is a rarity for a lot of reasons so I envy places that have an abundance of public art exhibits. If you’re in London, particularly the Chelsea area this summer, you can check out this interesting part of the art trail where something seems like one thing but is actually another thing.

Designer Name: Yoni Alter

Love Continuum is a large piece of typographic art that inspires its viewers (kids and kids at heart) to actually climb on it and play on it (safely of course). It is located on the Duke of York Square in Kings Road as part of the Kensington + Chelsea Art Week celebration which runs until August. At first it just looks like a huge red spring or swirly thing that may be a random piece of art in the city.

But if you actually look at it from a certain angle, it spells the word “love” in cursive. When viewed in other angles, it’s hard to see the word as it’s just a red worm that you can climb on, sit on (maybe not so comfortably), or just look at. But when you finally see the word it spells out, it’s a “eureka” moment that you’ll enjoy. You can also invite other people to discover this not so secret secret.

The “red squiggly worm” is 7.5 meters in length and is the latest in Alter’s continuing work of colorful concepts that invite people to play with it and enjoy his art. And with the “secret” word that is part of the sculpture, it adds another dimension.

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I live in a city where our idea of shared spaces are mostly malls. The fact that we don’t have any outdoor public places is a combination of bad city planning, the often too hot or too rainy weather, and maybe not seeing the need for places like these. So I envy cities where there are all kinds of parks, public squares, seafront quarters, and other spaces where people can just hang out without having to buy anything. And when there are even more interesting art installations there, I get even more envious.

Designers: Velvet, UN-LIKE, Stina Onemar

The Noblessner port in Talliinn, Estonia has existed even before World War I but now that it’s not a submarine shipyard anymore, it has become a public seafront quarter. A major attraction in this space is an illuminated bird’s nest made from metal, disused industrial objects and light art . What’s even more interesting here is that it was inspired by the sketch of 5-year-old Stina Onemar who thought about seeing something like this on top of the former lighting mast.

The eggs in the nest are made from polyethene and are actually weather resistant because of the rotational molding technology. The branches are made from materials from construction sites, including leftover roof edge trim to make the steel frame. These metallic materials also serve as reflectors for the lighting installation. The paint will also sport the eventual wear and tear until it blends with the light pole where it’s on top of, matching the natural ageing process since it’s located outside.

This is an interesting piece of art that combines reused materials with a natural design. The team from Velvet said that their design also shows how actual stork nests actually become “intertwined with human-made objects”. It’s also nice how they still involved the 5-year-old kid who inspired all of this in the production process. The nest light installation is visible from the road and also from the ships at sea.

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There’s always a feeling of childlike curiosity watching snow fall. Whether it’s the first snow of the year or even the faux snow inside a snow globe, it’s always fascinating to watch those flakes descend from the skies in slow motion, covering everything you see in a layer of white dust. No matter how old you are, snowfall has the ability to fascinate you and a handful of designers from South Korea are banking on that reaction with their new clock. Dubbed ‘Time to Snow’, this timepiece uses snow-like grains of styrofoam to tell time. The grains are trapped within a rectangular cuboid and are agitated constantly to create a miniature blizzard inside the clock. Meanwhile, cleverly positioned components use static electricity to catch some of those styrofoam particles, allowing them literally defy gravity as they display the time of the day. The result is a clock that absolutely delights with its unique approach to timekeeping. Move over, snowglobes!

Designers: Baek Sunwoo, Kim Myeongseong, Prof. Lee Woohun

The clock is accompanied by a camera module on top that lets viewers interact with it through their presence and gestures. In the absence of any nearby individuals, the hardware generates a snowstorm to attract people from a distance. As someone approaches, the snowstorm gradually diminishes until it completely fades away. At this point, a brief yet intense blizzard is created and as the proverbial dust settles, it displays the time of the day. Viewers can then engage with the ‘snow’ particles in mid-air, using hand gestures to interact intuitively. With each interaction, the wind erases certain parts of the displayed numbers, only to reveal new numbers every minute. Once the viewers depart, the numbers melt away like snow, and the snowstorm reverts back to its original state.

The delicate polystyrene particles dance gracefully in the breeze, mirroring the mesmerizing chaos of a snowstorm. The numerical patterns formed by layering these Styrofoam grains produce a captivating three-dimensional illusion, imitating how snow accumulates on rooftops, windowsills, and other elements on an urban or suburban landscape. This enhances the immersive experience, transporting the viewer into a world of snowy wonder. The formation of the numbers by these particles quite literally defies the laws of physics, creating a sense of amazement and wonder that vastly enhances the time-telling experience. It follows the clever design practice of ‘form following emotion’, as it digs into what makes us curious as humans. The interactive element enhances the clock’s UX tenfold, allowing you to engage with the ‘snow’ while being indoors!

The Time to Snow is a Best of the Best Winner of the Red Dot Award: Design Concept for the year 2023.

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We’re living in a world where virtual and physical realities are slowly inching towards a seamless amalgam. The interaction between the two realities is making new experiences possible, be it roaming in Metaverse or extreme gaming with VR headsets.

Now Sony Design has created one such experience that alters the dynamic visual reality based on how the user is behaving or interacting with the installation. This mesmerizing play of color and light is currently on show at the London Design Festival 2022.

Designer: Sony Design

Dubbed the INTO SIGHT, this creation in partnership with the London Design Festival took our team by surprise. The installation plays on the sensorial effects that morph the simple boundary surfaces into a visual spectrum of shifting light and color. There are see-through walls and reflective surfaces on the floor and ceiling of the space which is a colossal 220-inch Crystal LED screen. This screen takes input like emotional responses or sudden movement to put forth a hypnotic array of colorful hues and matching audio.

The rectangle-shaped installation is inspired by the intriguing challenges of the decade. The final result is a combination of technologies for guests to reflect on their emotions, allowing them to pause and focus on themselves without distractions yet in an abstract style. According to Sony Design, the installation gives the users freedom to portray their stories in a unique way. After all, the core of our stories remains the same. What differs is the medium and the impact it leaves on our psyche.

The technology used for INTO SIGHT is the same as the one used for cinematography virtual production. This tech has brought refreshing changes in the film production industry and is on course to replace the green screen with a hyper-realistic virtual scenery courtesy of Sony’s Crystal LED display systems. The installation is only going to be displayed at the London Design Festival, so, if you are already intrigued by the prospect of it, there’s nothing better than experiencing it in person.

Credit: Sony PR

Credit: Ed Reeve @editphoto

Credit:Ed Reeve @editphoto

Credit: Ed Reeve @editphoto

Credit: Ed Reeve @editphoto

Credit: Ed Reeve @editphoto

Credit: Ed Reeve @editphoto

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On March 5, on a Saturday afternoon, a group of 15 artists and activists launched 350 paper planes from the top floor of The Guggenheim calling for a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

Deployed during peak visiting hours, the 350 paper planes floated from the museum’s top floor to the ground, between floors brimming with people. As Russian forces invaded Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine had requested NATO to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine, but the request was rejected by NATO for fear of bringing more countries into the conflict since they would have to shoot down any Russian aircraft flying over Ukraine.

So far NATO, led by the United States, has announced it would not intervene by air or land, rejecting the possibility of taking on Russian forces. The paper planes that flew through the Guggenheim had a clear message for citizens of the world,

It reads, “This jet is made of paper. But what if it were steel and carried bombs over the heads of the ones you love? Right now, Russia is making deliberate efforts to blow up the largest nuclear plant in Europe in order to wipe out the Ukrainian population. This would give Putin control over Ukrainian land. But that is not the end. Russia wants to move its nuclear arsenal to the Ukrainian-Polish border and push its army further west. Putin has openly said this many times. This is no longer a local conflict. Act now to save the world. Ask president Biden to declare a no-fly zone over Ukraine. Protect the sky over Ukraine. Full embargo on Russia. Boycott Russian influence in cultural and political institutions.”

Upon entry to The Guggenheim, museum security guards barred two artists and activists from entering who were given the option to enter without the bag of flyers in tow. Artists Anton Varga, Bea Fremderman, V Pan, and Volk Lika were among the 15 organizers behind the act.

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The Wood Pavilion #2 from LIN Architecture is the second installment to the studio’s Wood Pavilion, a timber structure with an interior layout that was defined by human behavior.

Just two months ago, LIN Architecture finished work on Wood Pavilion #1, an all-black meditative space designed to be ergonomic, where humans could give in to their most natural and instinctual behavior. Today, LIN Architecture is back with another wooden pavilion, which is aptly called Wood Pavilion #2. Coated in red paint, the Wood Pavilion #2 shares the same purpose as its predecessor and is located in the same neighborhood in China’s ​​Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province.

Designer: LIN Architecture

Designed as, “a spatial experiment on using small-scaled temporary buildings to stimulate the site,” the Wood Pavilion #2 features a series of unpaired windows and internal cavities that are meant to give visitors a unique, visual, and spatial experience.

Throughout the pavilion, the layered walls are intersected by various internal cavities that collect sunlight and offer views of the outdoors, prompting visitors to take a seat or wander through the structure like a labyrinth.

Covering only 50 sqm, the Wood Pavilion #2 finds space and height through an intricate layout that weaves together rooms like an entryway that only leads to a wall and elemental sitting space. The four walls that compose Wood Pavilion #2 have been washed with a red dye, emphasizing the pavilion’s primal lure. In designing the second generation Wood Pavilion, the architects at LIN Architecture took what they learned from the first pavilion and applied it to the second’s construction process.

“Based on previous theoretical research,” the architects at LIN suggest, Wood Pavilion #2 is “a prototype combining theory and practice: based on a human scale, each section of the pavilion is used to set different spaces to guide people and their interaction patterns.”

Firstly, Wood Pavilion #2 maintained a human-centered layout and then looked to proxemic, behaviorology, and ergonomics to further develop the structure’s pathways spatial personality. Finding harmony in the surrounding architecture and community, “Wooden Pavilion #2 not only creates a dialogue with the traditional architectural forms of the village but also serves the local residents who, in their leisure time, can communicate and enjoy the harmonious relationship between the architectural space and its surrounding nature.”

Curved seats provide spots for visitors to take in the views and bathe in the sunlight.

Before constructing the Wood Pavilion #2, architects with LIN studied the human behavior and patterns of the local community.

The Wood Pavilion #2 serves to harmonize with the local community’s preexisting architecture. 

While it appears monolithic for its labyrinth-like layout, Wood Pavilion #2 is sized to human-scale.

The timber cabin is entirely constructed from timber and interconnected with steel columns and screws.

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LIQUID3 is an outdoor, urban photo-bioreactor that uses microalgae to perform photosynthesis and remove the same amount of CO2 as two ten-year-old trees.

Sustainable design that confronts the effects of climate change comes in many forms. From bio-receptive concrete that grows moss on its own to vertical urban forests that redefine what organic architecture could look like, sustainable design is all around us and provides varying degrees of mitigation against the threat of climate change.

Designer: University of Belgrade

Designers find a unique challenge in creating sustainable infrastructure in urban areas, where green spaces are few and far between. Taking an atypical approach to climate change design, researchers at the University of Belgrade developed LIQUID3, an urban photo-bioreactor that’s used for CO2 fixation and O2 production.

Located in the capital city of Serbia, a photo-bioreactor is essentially a vessel that uses a light source, such as natural sunlight, to cultivate phototrophic microorganisms that produce biomass. Created and designed by the University of Belgrade’s Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, LIQUID3 is a photo-bioreactor teeming with microalgae to sequester carbon and perform photosynthesis to produce oxygen.

Each LIQUID3 vessel carries a total of 600 liters of water, allowing the photo-bioreactor to remove analogous amounts of carbon dioxide as two 10-year-old trees or 200 square meters of green space. Operable even during the cold months of Belgrade’s winters, LIQUID3 only requires a light source for the naturally photosynthesizing microalgae to execute the same carbon-capturing role as trees in urban spaces that typically lack green spaces.

Awarded with Green Product Award’s Green Concept Award for 2022, LIQUID3 has been recognized for its innovative approach to green, bio-reactive design. Besides its appeal to sustainable design, LIQUID3 also suggests an efficient use of public land, while creating space for interactive ads and a high-value fertilizer. Its location in such a dense area of Belgrade also encourages city residents to become more aware of climate change’s threat to urban areas.

Configured like small urban meeting spaces, the LIQUID3 stations could be outfitted with outlets for city residents to charge their devices.

Come dark, LIQUID3 transforms into a neon-green light to guide residents through the streets.

An integrated bench space turns LIQUID3 into a social hub for city residents to gather and feel encouraged to keep fighting climate change.

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Buda Castle’s new visitor centers and Infopoints, accessory buildings to Hungary’s Buda Castle grounds, are entirely clad in reflective material, immersing visitors in the grounds’ natural surroundings.

No one can say what a modern accessory building should look like when they’re built for 13th-century castles. There’s a fine line between an accessory building that looks in harmony with its larger residence and one that resembles it a little too closely, only to repeat the same note.

Deisgners: BLOKK & Hello Wood

Up to the task, architecture studios BLOKK and Hello Wood collaborated to design new visitor centers and information hubs called Infopoints for Buda Castle’s grounds in Budapest, Hungary. Taking a blank canvas to its most extreme end, BLOKK and Hello Wood struck harmony through mirror-cladding and simple, geometric silhouettes to pay homage to Buda Castle without stealing the show.

Buda Castle, the first royal residence on Castle Hill, was built between the years 1247 and 1265 by King Béla IV of Hungary. Throughout the years, Buda Castle underwent several reconstruction phases including one following the Siege of Buda in 1686 and one following the castle’s occupation by Nazi Germany during World War II. Considering the castle’s textured history, modern architecture studios, BLOKK and Hello Wood had to get creative.

Located near the Palace of the Buda Castle, in its Palace District, the visitor centers and Infopoints each roughly cover 30-square-meters and fit in with their surroundings by responding to them. Looking to the castle’s shape for inspiration, the visitor center’s architects found unity through a cuboid body and a high-pitched roof, similar to the castle’s. Then, the Infopoint, which functions as the castle ground’s information desk and souvenir shop, keeps a cuboid shape without the pitched roof, similar to a street vendor’s pop-up shop.

Constructed atop four steel-framed modules, which were lifted into place by a crane, the buildings are easy to assemble and transport. The visitor center’s and Infopoint’s mirror-cladding was chosen for its modern appeal and subtle reflection of its surroundings.

The Hello Wood team describes the choice behind the structures’ mirror-cladding, “Aiming for a booth that stays low-key in the atmosphere of the Buda Castle resulted in the use of reflective, glassy material and an almost perfect cube. Not even a visible door handle, the so-called Mirror Pavilions look natural in the setting of this historic place.”

While the two different structures keep different silhouettes, the outdoor cladding and interior paneling remain congruent. In contrast to the cold, metallic feel of the exterior mirror-cladding, the interior walls of each structure find warmth and brightness with natural pine plywood paneling. Then, an overhead skylight drenches the indoor spaces with natural light, emphasizing the structure’s homogeneous appearance.

An internal skylight brightens the Infopoints’ natural pine plywood paneling and creates a warm retreat in contrast to the cold, reflective exterior. 

The architects at BLOKK and Hello Wood found harmony between the Buda Castle and the Infopoint structures by keeping the accessory building’s shape similar to the castle’s.  

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Clouds are supposed to be ephemeral, gentle, and dreamy, but an art installation wants to literally bring those lofty concepts down to the ground in a way that boggles the eyes and the mind.

The “cloud” has long been the buzzword in tech, at least before the “metaverse” came to unseat it. Just as amorphous as its namesake, this cloud virtually looms over every facet of modern life, from our houses to our offices to even the streets we walk on. Clouds are intangible by nature, but one designer wants to turn clouds into something we can see and even touch, provoking our senses and our minds with a structure that looks both heavenly from a distance yet also a bit unnerving up close.

Designer: Vincent Leroy

It is almost fortuitous that its designer would call this tangible cloud a “Metacloud,” though it has little to do with the much-hyped metaverse. True to the original meaning of the phrase, this cloud is both a cloud and not at the same time. Made up of thin curved blades, the cloud-shaped sculpture would levitate over streets, flying low enough to be touched, unlike a real cloud.

The Metacloud seems to be built on a series of opposites, looking light and airy yet tangible and confining. It hovers ever so slightly above the ground, moving freely yet unable to break free of the pull of reality. The moire pattern is both enchanting and dizzying, playing with our perceptions as well as our emotions. It is set in the heart of one of the busiest cities in Japan while moving slowly with nary a care in the world.

The overlapping blades create a moire effect that creates something like a visual illusion. You can see through the Metacloud, and yet parts of the image are occluded by the blades, forcing your mind to fill in the gaps. It’s almost as if you’re stuck in the Twilight Zone, constantly alternating between what is and what isn’t. It is both unsettling yet mystifying at the same time.

It turns out that those are exactly the emotions that designer Vincent Leroy wants to evoke, plunging viewers into what he calls a waking dream. In the past years, cities like Tokyo have “dozed off with confinement,” and the Metacloud wants to poke our minds awake while still alternating between the real world and dreamland. Whether you’d call it a dream or a nightmare is a personal judgment call, and it’s exactly the kind of thought-provoking process that the art installation wants to trigger.

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Accept All is an installation from French designer and artist Guillaume Slizewicz that robotizes digital-surveillance cookies and online ad trackers.

Every single day, we invite surveillance trackers to watch our every move. Those annoying pop-up windows that ask you to “Accept All” are really agreements between the internet and its user meant to streamline one’s cyber experience by keeping track of online behavior. They help websites remember pieces of information like your email address, your billing zip code, and your credit card information, as well as present ads that target your interests.

It’s like when the barista makes your iced latte before you even order it. It certainly feels nice, like someone’s got you covered, and it’s a lot less work for you, all you have to do is provide the payment. We click “Accept” so quickly, we don’t even know what we’re accepting. Guillaume Slizewicz wanted to see what it would look like if these digital-surveillance cookies and ad trackers were robotized, which led to his interactive art installment, Accept All.

Built as autonomous, vision-tracking surveillance machines pumped with AI, Slizewicz’s Accept All installation sends floor-roving robots to the feet of visitors like curious puppies nibbling at their toes. Adorned in their Sunday best, each robot is given personality through whimsical costumes.

One robot wears a grass skirt hiked up too high on its head, while another carries an exterior wireframe that resembles a fighting bull. Outfitted in zany costumes to bring out their charm and subdue their darker purpose of surveillance, each robot uses vision-tracking software to mimic data tracking from web cookies.

Slizewicz dressed each one of his robots in a costume not to make data tracking feel cute, but to take back control of the systems that surveil. “When we were growing up, there was this optimism about the internet and technology. And little by little, it was all replaced by this [doomed] feeling,” Slizewicz goes on, “[Accept All] is also about taking back control of this technology.”

Built with the same local AI used by Google, each Accept All robot hosts a Coral AI system that allows them to remain autonomous in movement and pace. The AI embedded in Accept All robots run independently of the cloud, so backlogs of the information gathered by robots won’t be stored in the cloud for future use.

The more immersed as a society we become in technology, the more familiar we become with cyber-surveillance and data tracking. However, there’s a fine line between familiarity and comfort, just like there’s a difference between the barista remembering your coffee order and expecting the barista to remember your order. Through Accept All, Slizewicz exhibits what this familiarity could look like if we allow ourselves to become comfortable with it and if we allow ourselves to even find it cute.

Designer: Guillaume Slizewicz

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