As the capital of Saudi Arabia continues its rapid cultural metamorphosis, the seventh edition of Tuwaiq Sculpture Symposium and Exhibition arrives to punctuate the city’s skyline with 25 large-scale works. The exhibition, which runs from February 9 to 22, 2026, occupies Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Street (Al Tahlia), turning a site once defined by water desalination into a into a temporary urban installation. By positioning these large-scale artworks along a historic axis of innovation, the program explores how public art can act as a catalyst for urban renewal and quality of life.

banner: Emergence by Wafa Alqunibit

above: Azm / Samu by Hassan Qureshi

all images courtesy of Riyadh Art

PUBLIC ART IN ACTION RELECTING THE CITY’S ONGOING RENEWAL

Organized by Riyadh Art under the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, the Tuwaiq Sculpture Symposium and Exhibition serves as a cultural platform that bridges local heritage with global perspectives. The 2026 edition’s theme, ‘Traces of What Will Be,’ brought together artists from 18 different countries through a focused curatorial selection process. Over the course of nearly a month, the public was invited to watch as raw, locally sourced stone and reclaimed metal were hewn into finished forms, functioning as a live laboratory to emphasize a material intelligence that responds directly to the city’s evolving identity.

Coexistence by Mohammed Althagafi

CONTRIBUTING NEW WORKS TO RIYADH ART’S PERMANENT COLLECTION

Guided by curators Lulwa Alhomoud, Sarah Staton, and Rut Blees Luxemburg, the participating artists navigate the intersection of human intervention and natural resources. From large-scale abstractions to intricate textures in granite and steel, the sculptures reflect a commitment to durability and the responsible use of materials within the urban context.

The life of these works extends far beyond the temporary exhibition on Al Tahlia. Each of the 25 pieces will eventually join the Riyadh Art’s Permanent Collection, finding a long-term home in prominent public spaces across the city. Since the program’s inception in 2019, more than 170 artists have contributed to this growing civic gallery, with over 60 works already integrated into the daily life of Riyadh residents. Through an accompanying program of workshops and panel talks, Tuwaiq Sculpture Symposium continues to weave contemporary art into the very fabric of the community.

REEF by Nilhan Sesalan

Dawn and Dusk by Irena Posner

The Alchemy and Transmutation of the Sea by José Cárcamo

The Planets Are Watching by Maryam Turkey

Drops of Life by Žilvinas Balkevičius

Traces of the Future by Wiktor Kopacz

Azm / Samu by Hassan Qureshi

Wharda by Raya Kassisieh

project info: 

name: Tuwaiq Sculpture Symposium and Exhibition 2026 | @riyadhartofficial

dates: February 9-22, 2026

location: Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Street (Al Tahlia), Riyadh

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Installed in front of Amsterdam’s Het Scheepvaartmuseum, with NEMO Science Museum in the background, Whale Fall is a light installation by XYTOPIA translating the deep-sea ecological phenomenon of a whale fall into a spatial structure accessible to the public. The project was selected through a two-stage international open competition with more than 700 entries, organised by the Amsterdam Light Festival under the theme ‘Legacy.‘ Developed over eighteen months between Sydney, Beijing, and Amsterdam, the installation examines how legacy is defined and by whom.

The work references the biological process in which a whale’s body becomes a sustaining ecosystem on the ocean floor. This transformation serves as a conceptual framework for examining continuity, decay, and regeneration. Rather than presenting legacy as monument or static remembrance, the installation interprets it as a process of material and ecological transition.

By drawing parallels between oceanic micro-ecologies and broader planetary systems, the project situates human impact within extended temporal scales. The installation’s lighting sequence reinforces this reading: during the day, the structure appears as a skeletal steel framework; at night, it emits a uniform crimson glow. The shift in color and illumination marks a transition from structural exposure to atmospheric immersion, aligning the visual experience with the conceptual theme of transformation.

image by XYTOPIA

curved steel portal frames create Whale Fall’s rhythmic space

Whale Fall is composed of a sequence of curved steel portal frames forming an accessible corridor. The ribs, fabricated in raw steel, are dimensioned across varying heights and spans, creating a rhythmic spatial progression. The corridor is mounted on a ramped platform to ensure universal accessibility and allow close interaction with the structure.

The installation is aligned parallel to the adjacent waterway, enabling views from both land and boat tours. From the water, the tilted frames and layered ribs generate changing visual alignments as viewers move past, producing a parallax effect. The structural base was designed to accommodate alternative siting conditions, including buried foundations, surface-mounted platforms, or buoyant systems for water-based installation.

XYTOPIA studio adapted the material strategy to Amsterdam’s winter climate. The untreated steel surface is designed to withstand wet and cold conditions while maintaining structural integrity. Integrated lighting and concealed cable routes support a constant, low-glare crimson illumination calibrated for outdoor durability.

image by XYTOPIA

XYTOPIA translates the skeletal concept into robust installation

Site constraints informed the project’s development, including heritage waterfront regulations, restricted access windows, heavy boat traffic, and seasonal weather. Sightlines toward Het Scheepvaartmuseum and navigation routes shaped the alignment and staging sequence.

Engineering and fabrication were executed in partnership with local teams in Amsterdam. The structure was transported fully assembled on pontoons and positioned beside the museum during a coordinated night operation, minimising disruption to the city’s infrastructure. The delivery required the temporary opening of a rail bridge at 3:00 a.m., allowing the installation to reach its final position via canal.

The project integrates repeatable steel joints, jig-based fabrication tolerances, and accessible service points for maintenance. These measures translate the initial skeletal concept into a technically robust installation suited to public and climatic demands.

image by XYTOPIA

On 14 January 2026, XYTOPIA’s Whale Fall served as the setting for a water-based concert marking the entry into force of the Global Ocean (High Seas) Treaty. Pianist-composer Iris Hond and percussionist Gijs Anders van Straalen performed from a floating pontoon in front of the museum. The event was organised in collaboration with Greenpeace Netherlands and Het Scheepvaartmuseum.

The performance connected the installation’s thematic focus on ecological cycles and intergenerational responsibility with a contemporary policy milestone. By situating a cultural event within the installation’s illuminated structure, the project linked spatial design, public gathering, and environmental governance within a shared urban setting.

image by XYTOPIA

image by XYTOPIA

image by Janus van den Eijnden

image by Janus van den Eijnden

image by XYTOPIA

image by XYTOPIA

image by Gosse Bouma

image by Gosse Bouma

image by Gosse Bouma

project info:

name: Whale Fall
designer: XYTOPIA | @xytopia.design

lead designer: Xinyi Wang

event: Amsterdam Light Festival | @amsterdamlightfestival

location: Amsterdam, Netherlands

photographers: Janus van den Eijnden, XYTOPIA, Gosse Bouma

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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The window is closing for the 2026 edition of the A’ Design Award, the world’s most diverse design competition. With the final deadline on February 28 and results set for May 1, this is the ultimate moment for the international creative community to step into the spotlight. Whether you are crafting furniture, building skylines, or designing for social change, the platform offers an unparalleled opportunity to have your work validated by a global audience.

A curated selection of past winners shows the diverse spectrum of categories, proving that innovation knows no bounds. From the glow of lighting products and the immersive nature of art installations to the precision of graphical illustrations and the cultural depth of fashion, the award celebrates excellence in every form. Whether you have designed an ergonomic chair, an avant-garde pavilion, or a project focused on social impact and circular design, submit your best work here before the doors close.

banner and above: Dolomite Armchair by Gabriela Casagrande
image credit: Adalberto Rodrigues

name: Dolomite

designer: Gabriela Casagrande

award: Bronze
category: Furniture Design
year: 2025

A GLOBAL STAGE AWAITS FOR DIVERSE DESIGN CATEGORIES

The A’ Design Award and Competition is built on the belief that good design deserves recognition, regardless of the medium. This inclusive philosophy is reflected in its vast array of categories, ensuring a dedicated space for specialized expertise. From tactile craftsmanship to large-scale impact, past winners have proven that excellence knows no boundaries. For a deep dive into the hundreds of specialized paths available, explore all categories here.

Tianmianshang Pavilion by Art Institute of Xiaoyan
image credit: Art Institute of Xiaoyan

name: Tianmianshang

team: Jianguo Dong, Jinjun Zhang, John Barton, Simba Xu, Michaël Dooley, Zhixuan Luo, Jintao Li, Yawen Wang, Xiwu Chen, Na Ou, Yanjun Zhang, Yaqi Wang, Yuezhuo Hu, Tsingz Huang, Ziqi Wang, Yueyao Huang, Ziyu Zhou, Zimo Zhao, Yiyi Yang, Peichen Dong, Hao Geng, Langbo Shi, Shanghong Shi, Haoxiang Yuan, Xinlei Liu, Chenyu Lai, Yaxin Zhang, Junning Zhang, Zhishun Min, Jiashu Xiang, Zichang Guo, Yanjie Zhu, Yutong Yao, Qixuan Yang, Zixi Liu, Anni Zheng, Ziyan Wang, Zixi Chen, Ziying Chen and Chuyue Li

award: Bronze

category: Architecture, Building and Structure Design
year: 2025

RECOGNITION BY A GRAND JURY OF 318 EXPERTS

Winning the A’ Design Award is a definitive career milestone that offers far-reaching benefits beyond the physical trophy. The A’ Design Prize provides laureates with international exhibition opportunities, a place in the prestigious yearbook, and dedicated PR services — including being featured here on designboom. Furthermore, winners gain prestige in the World Design Rankings and project translations in 100+ languages, opening doors to new markets and clients.

Every submission undergoes a rigorous peer-review process by the Grand Jury Panel, which for the 2026 cycle features 318 world-class design professionals, academics, and members of the press. This diverse panel ensures that every entry is judged with the expertise and fairness it deserves.

Kindergarten in Vilnius Educational Building by NG Architects
image credit: Norbert Tukaj

name: Kindergarten in Vilnius

team: Ignas Vengalis, Filippo Erasti, Dovilė Ivanauskienė, Justyna Molis

award: Silver

category: Architecture, Building and Structure Design
year: 2025

Free Air Artwork With Medical Functions by Huang Yu Jung
image credit: Kao, Ming-Chieh

name: Free Air

artist:  Huang Yu Jung

award: Silver

category: Fine Arts and Art Installation Design
year: 2025

Anthropology Chinese Textbook Graphics Design by Xu Tang
image credit: Xu Tang Biejinglab / CITIC Press Group

name: Anthropology Chinese Textbook

designer: Xu Tang

award: Silver

category: Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design
year: 2025

Guangzhou Academy of Arts Exhibition Visual Identity by Shi Chun Sheng

image credit: Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts

name: Guangzhou Academy of Arts

team: Shi Chun Sheng, Tang Ruo Fei, Chen Ruoxi, Liu Yi He , Chen Yi Miao and Luo Zhi Kun

award: Gold

category: Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design
year: 2025

Miao Attire Innovation Cultural Fashion Design by Rufan Lin
image credit: Rufan Lin

name: Miao Attire Innovation

designer: Rufan Lin

award: Silver

category: Costume and Heritage Wear Design
year: 2025

CoDe Italian Design Museum by Tihany Design and Matteo Vercelloni
image credit: Andrea Martiradonna

name: CoDe

team: Tihany Design, Matteo Vercelloni, Matteo Vercelloni, Paola Gallo, Cristina Menotti, Roberto Dassoni and Augusta Grecchi

award: Gold

category: Cultural Heritage and Culture Industry Design
year: 2020

Culture to Technology Identity Placard by Lei Wang
image credit: Hefei High Tech Digital Technology Co., LTD.

name: Culture to Technology Identity

team: Ji Chao, Xu Ning, Jin Lei, Wang Lei and Zhou Jiaxiang

award: Platinum

category: Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design
year: 2025

The Afterlife Cultural Space by Michel Nagi Ghostine

image credit: Michel Nagi Ghostine

name: The Afterlife

architect: Michel Nagi Ghostine

award: Bronze

category: Cultural Heritage and Culture Industry Design
year: 2024

TCLGreen Sustainable Art Installation by Creazione Sugo
image credit: Giovanni Albani Lattanzi

name: TCLGreen

artist: Kevin Chu

award: Gold

category: Circular Economy and Regenerative Design
year: 2023

DH Seasons in Bloom Enamel Badge by Lets Art Hong Kong Limited
image credit: Lets Art Hong Kong Limited

name: DH Seasons in Bloom

designer: Lets Art Hong Kong Limited

award: Silver

category: Cultural Heritage and Culture Industry Design
year: 2025

Qiushi Academy by U A D

image credit: Zhao Qiang

name: Qiushi

team: Luo Qingping, Ru Dan, Yin Nong, Cui He, Su Renyi, Xiao Zhibin, Pan Jiafu, Xuan Jican, Wang Zhenggang, Yang Yi, Tian Xiangning, Lu Dehai, Jin Shengjie, Sang Songbiao, Jiang Bing, Dong Hao, Xia Jiming, Chen Dong, Chen Shengxian and Zhang Ying

award: Silver

category: Cultural Heritage and Culture Industry Design
year: 2023

Hyzy World Youth Activity Center Corporate Identity by Ecust Creplus Design
image credit: ECUST-Creplus Design

name: Hyzy World Youth Activity Center

team: Shan Hao, Du Weimiao and Hua Yizhou

award: Gold

category: Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design
year: 2025

Pepsi Diner Milan 2024 Experiential by PepsiCo Design and Innovation
image credit: PepsiCo Design and Innovation

name: Pepsi Diner Milan 2024

designer: PepsiCo Design and Innovation

award: Bronze

category: Interior Space and Exhibition Design
year: 2025

Dance With The Wind Art Installation by Daisuke Nagatomo and Minnie Jan
image credit: Daisuke Nagatomo and Minnie Jan

name: Dance With The Wind

team: Daisuke Nagatomo and Minnie Jan

award: Gold 

category: Lighting Products and Fixtures Design
year: 2023

Kukuk Box Mobile Playground by Kukuk Box GmbH
image credit: Kukuk Box GmbH

name: Kukuk Box

team: Bernwart A. Engelen and Kim Benjamin Kappenberg

award: Silver 

category: Playground Equipment, Play Structures and Public Park Design
year: 2023

Chambyrinth Social Impact by Ronghao Chang
image credit: Ronghao Chang

name: Chambyrinth

team: Geoffrey Wang, Chengsyuan Tsai, Yixi Gao, Yun Wu, Chiatzu Chiu, Pinchen Yeh and Songyun Ko

award: Silver 

category: Public Awareness, Volunteerism, and Society Design
year: 2017

The Ancient Mexicans Exhibition Identity by Eduardo Guizar Vukovich
image credit: Eduardo Guizar Vukovich

name: The Ancient Mexicans 

team:  Andrea Rodríguez Tapia, Ariadna García Ríos, Daniela de la Fuente Lozano and Isabel Villegas Martínez

award: Silver

category: Cultural Heritage and Culture Industry Design
year: 2024

Shazhou Youhuang Cultural Park by Senem Cennetoglu

image credit: Aaron&Rex

name: Shazhou Youhuang

architect: Senem Cennetoglu

award: Gold 

category: Construction and Real Estate Projects Design
year: 2023

The post submit your best work to A’ design award and competition before the deadline ends appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Drawing Architecture Studio presents The Clock House No.2 at the 7th Shenzhen Bay Public Art Season in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China, on view until April 19th, 2026. Commissioned for the public art program, the Beijing-based practice reinterprets the historical automaton clock as architecture, using low-cost industrial components to construct a structure that chimes and glows every fifteen minutes.

Where the clocks once gifted to emperors represented technical virtuosity and expensive craftsmanship, this installation adopts a deliberately rough and economical construction. It is assembled from corrugated PVC panels, ventilation fans, lightning rods, wind-driven bird deterrents, plastic insulation anchors, and LED light strips, all mass-produced industrial elements sourced online at low cost.

By cutting and recombining corrugated sheets in varied configurations, the architects work directly with the inherent texture, color, and visual rhythm of the material. Ventilation fans signal the position of the clock face, lightning rods and bird deterrents operate as ornamental extensions, and LED strips glow from within the structure, visible through openings in the facade.

all images by Shangqi Art

The Clock House No.2 frames timekeeping as cultural exchange

In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, Western missionaries introduced automaton clocks to China, mechanical devices capable of marking time with precision and theatrical movement. Known as Zì Míng Zhōng, meaning ‘the clock that rings automatically,’ these objects entered the imperial court as diplomatic instruments before gradually embedding themselves in domestic life.

Guangdong Province, historically Canton, served as one of the Qing dynasty’s principal maritime gateways. European clocks arrived through this region along global trade routes, positioning Shenzhen within a layered history of technological transfer and cultural exchange. The Beijing-based team at Drawing Architecture Studio situate their project precisely at this intersection, linking mechanical timekeeping, architecture, and trade.

Drawing Architecture Studio presents The Clock House No.2 at the 7th Shenzhen Bay Public Art Season

from utensil to building

The project draws on Aldo Rossi’s reflections on architecture and ordinary utensils, objects that accumulate ‘forms of memory’ through repeated use and cultural continuity. For Rossi, the boundary between the domestic object and the architectural artifact is porous. The Clock House No.2 extends this thinking by turning the clock into a building and the building into a clock, collapsing scale distinctions between furniture and facade.

The structure references the layered organization and tiled facades typical of everyday dwellings in Guangdong, while adopting the ornamental and structural logic of historical automaton clocks, retaining the recognizable silhouette of a mantel clock while expanding it into an inhabitable scale.

the Beijing-based practice reinterprets the historical automaton clock as architecture

ceremonial time, translated

Although it contains no intricate mechanical movement, The Clock House No.2 incorporates a contemporary interpretation of timekeeping through sound and light. Every fifteen minutes, an automated musical chime is triggered while LED strips illuminate the structure in shifting hues. In doing so, the installation preserves the ceremonial quality of traditional automaton clocks, translating it into a contemporary sensory language that relies on electrical rhythm.

Through this symbolic reversal, imperial craftsmanship is set against contemporary industrial standardization. The project examines how different eras of production and consumption shape architectural form, aesthetic taste, and material culture. Drawing Architecture Studio proposes low-cost architecture as a framework for rethinking how memory, ornament, and time can be constructed in the present.

low-cost industrial components construct a structure that chimes and glows every fifteen minutes

 the architects work directly with the inherent texture, color, and visual rhythm of the material

ventilation fans signal the position of the clock face

lightning rods and bird deterrents operate as ornamental extensions

the project draws on Aldo Rossi’s reflections on architecture and ordinary utensils

the structure merges two spatial and tectonic languages

retaining the recognizable silhouette of a mantel clock while expanding it into an inhabitable scale

project info: 

name: The Clock House No.2
architects: Drawing Architecture Studio | @drawingarchitecturestudio

location: Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China

design team: Li Han, Hu Yan, Zhang Xintong

photographer: Shangqi Art | @shangqiart

The post industrial components assemble glowing clock-house by drawing architecture studio in china appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

ENESS’ Iwagumi Air Scape unfolds across Piazza Maggiore in Bologna, marking one of the few contemporary artworks to occupy the 13th-century square in its long history. The large-scale installation transforms the civic heart of the city into a field of luminous, air-filled ‘boulders’ that appear geological in mass.

More than 10,000 people gathered around the work, yet, despite the crowds, the atmosphere reportedly settled into an unexpected calm, as visitors moved quietly among the forms. Previously presented at i Light Singapore along the Marina Bay foreshore and later at Prahran Square in Melbourne, the project arrives in Bologna with an established trajectory of adapting its rock compositions to sharply different urban settings. The team draws from the Japanese concept of iwagumi, a tradition of composed rock arrangements that emphasize balance, stillness, and reverence toward nature. Here, that sensibility is translated into inflatable volumes that evoke immense stone formations. By day, the matte surfaces read as oversized fragments of landscape displaced into the urban grid. By night, they emit shifting color and a responsive soundscape inspired by frogs, birds, and bats, introducing subtle acoustic life into the square.

all images courtesy of ENESS

Monumentality staged without permanence

In Iwagumi Air Scape, the Melbourne-based art and technology studio operates through contrast. Its soft, air-supported structures suggest thousands of tons of rock, yet they are lightweight and fully dismantled at the end of each presentation, with materials sustainably broken down. In Bologna, the lilac glow of the inflatables interacts with the surrounding architectural lighting, creating a layered dialogue between the historic fabric and the temporary intervention.

Visitors are encouraged to circulate, lean, photograph, and even embrace the forms. The scale invites proximity rather than distance. In aerial views, the installation reads as a clustered geological event within the rigid geometry of the square. At ground level, it becomes a series of intimate encounters with surface, light, and sound.

the unusual site brings to mind the development of cities and its toll on our natural world

shifting contexts, consistent principles

Iwagumi Air Scape is designed as a contextually flexible work. For i Light Singapore, it was installed within an expansive green space, rising like an isolated formation in an open field. At Prahran Square in Melbourne, it confronted dense urban surroundings, offering a temporary counterpoint to high-rise congestion. In Bologna, positioned among church-built structures and centuries-old masonry, the installation takes on additional readings, connected to deep time, meditation, prayerfulness, and collective awe.

Across these settings, ENESS maintains the core design principles of iwagumi, including asymmetry, balance, and the relationship between elements. The project’s adaptability lies not in changing its identity, but in allowing each site to recalibrate its meaning.

every iteration of Iwagumi Air Scape is sensitively integrated into the site

the lilac hue of Iwagumi Air Scape’s boulders sit in harmony with the copper turrets in the surrounding cityscape

the textural quality of Iwagumi Air Scape is as beautiful and intriguing by day as it is by night

visitors move quietly among the forms

peeking through forms reminiscent of ancient boulders to the historic city beyond

the closest rocks loom large, beckoning visitors onward

a pleasing interplay develops between the existing architectural lighting and the temporary installation

crowds enjoying the installation, taking photos, dancing, hugging the forms or just standing in the light

the glowing forms of Iwagumi Air Scape creating a tranquil scene in the early evening light

a sea of visitors against the illuminated forms

a layered dialogue between the historic fabric and the temporary intervention

project info:

name: Iwagumi Air Scape

artist: ENESS | @studioeness

locations: Piazza Maggiore, Bologna, Italy

The post ENESS installs luminous inflatable boulders in bologna’s historic piazza maggiore appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Seoul Wing by BKID is a series of installative sunshades for parks that can withstand typhoons and harsh weather. Formed with a sloping roof, the bird-wing-shaped structures are made from polyurethane mesh, giving them a lightweight and robust design. Seoul’s summers are humid, and at times, the country experiences sudden storms and seasonal typhoons. Traditional parasols and tents break under strong winds, so BKID reframes these through the lens of biomimicry because in nature, wings can withstand air by being flexible and distributing force.

all images courtesy of BKID | photos by BKID and Lee Sangpil

Light Installative sunshades made from mesh

The mesh as the primary material lessens the wind load because air passes through, so during high winds, the installative Seoul Wing sunshades don’t resist. Polyurethane mesh also keeps the system light enough to be assembled and transported, and its exposure to rain, humidity, and UV light doesn’t degrade its surface immediately. For the design of the structures, the BKID team chooses a canopy-like form to shelter groups of ten or more instead of just a couple of people. Under the installative sunshades of the Seoul Wing, families can gather for picnics, and because of the form’s extended span, they create fields of shade to (temporarily) protect them from harsh weather.

Visually, the canopy introduces a kinetic silhouette to the landscape, with its curved surfaces and tensile lines contrasting the greenery. More than a shelter, the installative shades Seoul Wing rethink how shade is provided in dense urban contexts, where perhaps trees and other greenery are slowly being reduced. So far, the team shows that the structures have been installed in a number of parks in Seoul, Korea, including the Battleship Park, Botanic Park, and the dog playground at the Olympic Park.

Seoul Wing by BKID is a series of installative sunshades for parks

the bird-wing-shaped structures are made from polyurethane mesh

the structures are curved to withstand the harsh weather

Seoul Wing at Olympic Park, Dog Playground

Seoul Wing at Olympic Park, Dog Playground

detailed view of the bird-wing-inspired structured

the design is lightweight so it is easy to transport and assemble it

project info:

name: Seoul Wing

design: BKID | @bkid.co

photography: BKID, Lee Sangpil | @sangpil

The post sunshades shaped like bird wings can withstand typhoons and harsh weather in seoul appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Casa Batlló unveils Hidden Order, a monumental projection mapping by Matt Clark, founder of United Visual Artists, presented as a free public event on Gaudí’s facade. For the first time, the annual mapping commission also moves indoors, inaugurating a new second-floor space with Beyond the Facade, a site-specific exhibition that extends the project past the street.

Conceived as a large-scale audiovisual performance, Hidden Order transforms Casa Batlló’s facade through cycles of light, movement, and sound. Clark approaches Gaudí’s architecture as an active system shaped by geometry, natural laws, and constant transformation. The title echoes L’ordre invisible, the official motto of Gaudí Year 2026, pointing to the idea that apparent chaos often conceals deeper structures. ‘Gaudí once said that the straight line belongs to man, and the curve to God… I’ve always been drawn to the hidden systems beneath the surface—those structures that quietly shape the world around us.’ Clark notes.

The experience is further intensified by a live performance by choreographer and dance artist Fukiko Takase, activating the facade in real time and tightening the feedback loop between body, building, and public space.

Clark collaborated with the dance artist, recording her movements through motion-capture technology. Her body becomes a generative element within the projection, multiplied and transformed into dynamic visual structures that appear to grow directly from the facade. Takase’s choreography was developed through direct physical engagement with Casa Batlló, responding to its curves, textures, and spatial rhythm, treating the building as a partner.

Hidden Order mapping by United Visual Artists at Casa Batlló | all images by Claudia Mauriño

hidden order unfolds as an interior journey

An original score by composer Daniel J. Thibaut binds image, movement, and architecture into a single performative experience. Developed in close dialogue with Clark and Takase’s choreography, the composition draws on geometry and natural patterns, shifting from restrained pulses to more expansive sequences. Sound is not used illustratively,  but structurally, allowing the facade to ‘find its own voice’ as light, motion, and audio operate together over time.

Opening in parallel with the mapping, Beyond the Facade marks the launch of Casa Batlló’s contemporary art exhibition space. Conceived as an interior continuation of Hidden Order, the exhibition leads visitors on a gradual journey from daylight into darkness, tracing rhythms of day and night, order and disorder. Through light studies, motion-based projections, and kinetic sculpture, the British artist slows the tempo, offering what he describes as ‘a more reflective counterpoint to the facade mapping… an opportunity to look more closely at the ideas and processes behind the work.’

A key reference of the concept is Ramon Llull, the 13th-century Majorcan philosopher whose diagrammatic systems sought to reveal the hidden order of the world through logic and geometry. The connection situates Clark’s practice within a longer lineage of thinkers who, like Llull and Gaudí, understood nature as an intelligible system.

a monumental projection mapping by Matt Clark

a civic spectacle activating gaudí’s legacy

Now in its fifth edition, Casa Batlló’s annual mapping series has become a major public event, drawing 110,000 spectators in 2025 alone. Previous commissions by Refik Anadol, Sofia Crespo, and Quayola have reinterpreted the facade through digital and generative practices. While United Visual Artists has produced permanent public artworks worldwide, Hidden Order marks the studio’s first exploration of projection mapping. ‘We see the mapping as a gift to the city—an open moment of encounter with a living World Heritage site,’ shares Gary Gautier, General Director of Casa Batlló.

The project forms part of Casa Batlló Contemporary, the ongoing program of the institution dedicated to commissioning new work in dialogue with Gaudí’s legacy. The year 2026 marks the centenary of Gaudí’s death, officially designated Gaudí Year 2026 by the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Government of Spain, and coincides with Barcelona’s role as World Capital of Architecture. Hidden Order and Beyond the Facade treat Gaudí’s work as a living framework, one that continues to generate new forms of artistic thinking today.‘Gaudí’s work is already alive. Casa Batlló Contemporary exists to create the conditions for that legacy to continue expanding through contemporary artists, for the world of today.’ explains María Bernat, Director of Casa Batlló Contemporary.

Hidden Order transforms Casa Batlló’s facade through cycles of light, movement, and sound

Clark approaches Gaudí’s architecture as an active system shaped by geometry, natural laws, and transformation

Beyond the Facade marks the launch of Casa Batlló’s contemporary art exhibition space

Casa Batlló’s annual mapping series has become a major public event

treating the building as a partner

Hidden Order marks the studio’s first exploration of projection mapping

Fukiko Takase’s body becomes a generative element within the projection

the experience is further intensified by a live performance by choreographer and dance artist Fukiko Takase

conceived as a large-scale audiovisual performance

the title echoes L’ordre invisible, the official motto of Gaudí Year 2026

the annual mapping commission also moves indoors

inaugurating a new second-floor space with Beyond the Facade exhibition

The post united visual artists animates gaudí’s casa batlló facade through embodied motion appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

ODDO architects shape the public art pavilion T10A in Hanoi, Vietnam using over 40,000 recycled plastic bags as well as handmade paper. Developed as a temporary exhibition space for Vietnamese architecture projects, the design team draws inspiration from Hanoi’s craft heritage. The structure includes traditional handmade paper, known locally as Giấy Dó, alongside the recycled plastic. Alongside the public art pavilions, there are paper domes within which visitors can explore the architectural drawings and information of the exhibitions from inside. 

The children from a local kindergarten were invited to decorate the paper domes with drawings showing how they imagine their city. Their work adds a personal and playful layer to the public art pavilion in Vietnam, turning the space into both an exhibition and a community artwork. A lightweight steel frame holds the structures together, a reference to the method that mirrors the construction practices common in some Vietnamese urban neighborhoods.

all images courtesy of ODDO architects | photos by Trieu Chien

wing-like roof sections shelter different exhibitions

The local community plays a central role in the ODDO architects’ project because it is the volunteers who helped gather plastic waste and took part in the construction process, turning the public art pavilions in Hanoi, Vietnam, into a collective building effort. Visually, the pavilions stand out through three large wing-like roof sections, each representing different exhibition themes: residential architecture, interior design, and sustainability projects. The recycled plastic panels filter daylight, creating shifting patterns of colored light inside the pavilion, and after sunset, internal lighting allows the structures to glow, transforming them into a luminous landmark within the urban setting. 

After the exhibition ends, the materials used by the design team for T10A aren’t discarded but instead reused to produce new objects, including bags and design products, extending the life cycle of the materials and reducing waste. In the end, it is the aim of the project organizers to encourage architects, designers, and the public to reconsider how materials are valued. In these public art pavilions in Hanoi, Vietnam, plastic waste, which is often viewed as pollution, becomes a revived resource that makes way for reusable design.

recycled plastic roofing filtering daylight and casting vibrant shadows

the construction involves the help of the local community volunteers

the structure includes traditional handmade paper, known locally as Giấy Dó

view of the three public art pavilions in Hanoi, Vietnam by ODDO architects

the exhibition space lies beneath translucent plastic wings

a lightweight steel frame holds the structures together

lantern-like pavilion glowing within the urban landscape

at night, the structure are illuminated by warm lighting

each section represents different exhibition themes

after the exhibition ends, the materials are reused

project info:

name: Pavilion T10A

design: ODDO architects | @oddoarchitects

photography: Trieu Chien | @trieuchien

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: matthew burgos | designboom

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La Memoria del Río is a modular cultural pavilion developed as a reversible urban infrastructure for the city of Bogotá, Colombia. Designed by Alsar-Atelier in collaboration with SDRD, the project draws conceptual and formal references from Bogotá’s river systems, proposing a flexible architectural framework capable of supporting cultural activity without permanently altering its surroundings. The pavilion is conceived to appear and disappear across different urban contexts, establishing a decentralized model for public cultural space.

Positioned between public art and ephemeral architecture, the project operates as a temporary structure intended to reactivate underused urban sites through cultural programming. Commissioned by the Secretaría Distrital de Recreación y Deporte (SDRD), the initiative promotes temporary intervention as a strategy to distribute cultural activities across multiple neighborhoods rather than concentrating them in fixed locations. This approach allows the pavilion to be deployed repeatedly in diverse areas of the city, adapting to local conditions while maintaining a consistent architectural identity.

The conceptual framework is informed by Bogotá’s hydrological systems, particularly its rivers, which originate in the eastern mountain range and traverse varied topographies before reaching the savanna. These systems are understood as dynamic, adaptive infrastructures shaped by time, movement, and context. This understanding translates into a modular roof structure characterized by flexibility, expandability, and fluid formal expression. Rather than reproducing literal representations, the design abstracts the spatial and phenomenological qualities of water and flow.

La Memoria del Río Pavilion | all images courtesy of Alsar-Atelier

A Reversible Modular Unit that responds to wind and light

Based on these principles, the design team, formed by El Líder S.A.S., INGEACERO, and Alsar-Atelier, developed a modular unit measuring 6 meters in length, 8 meters in width, and 5 meters in height. The module features a vaulted elevation and unidirectional expandability, allowing it to be combined or subdivided depending on site requirements. The construction system relies entirely on dry connections, enabling rapid assembly and disassembly without permanent foundations. This allows installation in a wide range of urban settings, including streets, plazas, sports courts, and heritage areas, without causing irreversible impact.

The interior atmosphere further reinforces the project’s conceptual basis through an abstract interpretation of water movement. Suspended beneath a transparent polycarbonate roof, approximately 15,000 blue fabric fragments are distributed across the ceiling. Their motion, activated by wind, creates shifting patterns of light, shadow, and transparency that recall the behavior of flowing water. This element establishes a spatial experience that changes continuously with environmental conditions, reinforcing the pavilion’s temporary and responsive nature.

La Memoria del Río is a modular cultural pavilion designed as reversible urban infrastructure in Bogotá

Temporary Architecture as a Tool for Urban Cultural Exchange

Parque Bicentenario, located between Parque de la Independencia and the Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá and designed by Giancarlo Mazzanti, served as the project’s initial site and testing ground. The pavilion adapts to the park’s variable topography and lack of a rigid spatial order, responding to the site in a manner comparable to how a river occupies a valley. Constructed over a four-week period, the structure has hosted a range of cultural events, including gastronomic festivals, circus performances, and theatrical and artistic programs.

During the first half of 2026, La Memoria del Río will remain at this initial location before being redeployed across different areas of Bogotá. Through its modularity, reversibility, and mobility, the project establishes a repeatable cultural infrastructure that operates at an urban scale. Rather than functioning as a permanent building, La Memoria del Río positions architecture as a temporary spatial device, one that facilitates cultural exchange while referencing the city’s overlooked natural systems through form, material, and spatial experience.

the pavilion is conceived to appear and disappear across different urban contexts

the design draws formal and conceptual references from Bogotá’s river systems

rivers dynamics inform the pavilion’s flexible and expandable roof structure

vaulted geometry allows unidirectional expansion and subdivision

the pavilion by Alsar-Atelier supports cultural programming without permanent site alteration

the project operates between public art and ephemeral architecture

approximately 15,000 blue fabric fragments are suspended beneath the roof

the installation creates an abstract spatial interpretation of flowing water

construction

project info:

name: La Memoria del Rio
architect: Alsar-Atelier | @alsar_atelier, SDRD

location: Bogotá, Colombia

models and diagrams: Sebastian Pineda | @sebaspinedah

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Daxing Jizi Design inserts OctaPlay, a public art installation, into a site defined by monumental industrial remains in Beijing, reframing the heavy material legacy of the area through movement, color, and atmospheric change. The lightweight, kinetic structure is commissioned for Yong Ding He Ji, a cultural and lifestyle destination unfolding along the Yongding River at the foot of Shijingshan. Set within Shougang Park’s vast former steelworks, the installation takes its name from its eight-sided geometry. Its octagonal frame and folded surfaces recall paper origami, a contrast to the rigidity of the industrial environment.

The designers describe the project as a topological translation of Shougang Park’s iconic smokestacks. Still, instead of vertical mass, OctaPlay disperses volume into semi-transparent elements that rotate and overlap. Suspended colored discs move gently with the wind, their shifting alignments producing an ever-changing composition of light and shadow.

all images by Zhu Yumeng, unless stated otherwise

wind-driven installation reframes the industrial landscape

In their early design ideas, the Chinese team at Daxing Jizi Design explored weaving overlapping metal sheets. As the project developed, this approach evolved into a combination of folding and nesting, paired with both heavy and light materials. Color became central in the later stages. While the metal framework of OctaPlay was initially conceived in black, prolonged time on site led the team to reconsider. Surrounded daily by dark industrial structures, they introduced silver surfaces with soft peach tones on the reverse, subtly lightening the installation.

Wind becomes the invisible conductor of the installation, animating the suspended elements and determining their rhythm. As sunlight passes through the rotating discs, colored reflections drift across the ground, turning visitors into participants within a temporary field of light. 

Yong Ding He Ji occupies a complex terrain where riverbanks, mountains, and factory relics coexist. The broader development follows a strategy of minimal intervention and spatial extension, allowing architecture, art, and commercial programs to emerge from the existing ground. OctaPlay operates within this logic and responds to the surrounding chimneys and steel structures, translating their scale and symbolism into an abstract, human-scaled form.

OctaPlay by Daxing Jizi Design stands within Shougang Park’s former steelworks

suspended colored discs through folded metal surfaces | image by Li Haibin

the installation stands between industrial relics and surrounding hills

the installation invites visitors to move through shifting fields of color and shadow

OctaPlay reinterprets the vertical mass of smokestacks

cut-out openings and folded edges define the human-scaled structure

suspended discs rotate gently, producing overlapping chromatic effects

the folded structure frames light, color, and movement

layered geometry and rotating colored elements

wind-driven colored discs animate the installation

an ever-changing composition of light and shadow | image by Kong Fansheng

wind becomes the invisible conductor of the installation | image by Kong Fansheng

octagonal frame and folded surfaces recall paper origami | image by Kong Fansheng

snow transforms OctaPlay into a seasonal landmark | image by Yong Ding He Ji

project info:

name: OctaPlay

artist: Daxing Jizi Design | @daxingjizi

location: Yong Ding He Ji, Shougang Park, Beijing (Shijingshan District, left bank of Yongding River)

area: 50 square meters

project director: Xie Qiongzhi

lead designer: Zeng Zhenwei

design consultant: Li Wenhai

structural engineering: AND Office

client: Yong Ding He Ji

photographer: Zhu Yumeng | @yumeng_zhu_coppakstudio, Kong Fansheng

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