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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Developed by MASK Architects, the Dual-Axis Concave Mirror Living System proposes an architectural model in which buildings function as integrated energy, water, and environmental infrastructure. Rather than treating architecture and utilities as separate systems, the project positions the building itself as a responsive interface that produces resources while shaping inhabitable space. The design centers on a dual-axis concave parabolic mirror mounted at the crown of each module, which tracks the sun in real time to concentrate solar energy while simultaneously supporting shading, ventilation, and microclimate regulation for the spaces below.

Known as the Fiji Solar Crown, the system introduces a solar-integrated living architecture that incorporates a kinetic concave mirror into the primary structural and spatial framework. Developed in collaboration with TesserianTech, responsible for engineering and kinetic mirror technology, the project addresses Fiji’s challenges related to energy instability, reliance on imported diesel, freshwater scarcity, saltwater intrusion, and increasing climate pressures. The system is designed to operate independently from centralized grids, allowing architectural units to generate electricity and harvest water directly on site.

all images by MASK Architects

Solar Crown as Environmental Engine and Spatial Organizer

The architectural language draws from the traditional Fijian bure, reinterpreting its elevated structure, passive ventilation principles, and symbolic roof apex through contemporary materials and technology. The concave solar crown functions as an environmental engine, concentrating sunlight for electricity generation, redirecting heat to support passive cooling, powering nighttime illumination, and collecting rainwater that is stored within the structural core for potable and non-potable use.

Beneath the crown, the spatial organization unfolds vertically. The ground level forms a shaded, naturally ventilated living platform, while the main inhabitable floor integrates panoramic views with the service core. An upper observation level frames the sky and surrounding landscape, reinforcing the vertical relationship between living space and environmental systems.

The design team at MASK Architects considers the system as a family of three modular scales, each defined by its concave solar crown. The 3-meter-diameter module functions as a compact energy and water generator suited to rural infrastructure, agricultural use, and small off-grid shelters. The 5-meter module supports community-oriented programs such as outdoor classrooms, gathering spaces, and small tourism facilities. The 7-meter module is conceived as a fully inhabitable multi-level residence or accommodation unit, capable of operating on elevated or floating foundations in response to rising sea levels. These modules can function independently or be clustered to form larger communities, micro-grids, or territorial networks.

concave solar mirrors generate energy while enabling water harvesting and condensation

Energy, Water, and Material Performance Across Scales

Energy generation is a central performance parameter. Under Fiji’s solar conditions, the 3-meter mirror produces approximately 12 kWh per day, the 5-meter mirror around 30 kWh per day, and the 7-meter crown approximately 58 kWh per day. When deployed in clusters, groups of ten units can generate between 120 and 580 kWh per day, supporting off-grid residential areas, agricultural operations, educational facilities, and tourism infrastructure without reliance on diesel fuel. Rainwater collection integrated into the crown and core provides localized water independence for drinking, irrigation, and greywater systems.

Material selection reinforces both environmental and cultural considerations. The system employs laminated bamboo, locally sourced Fijian hardwoods, bamboo-fiber composites, and geopolymer concrete, combined with ground-based or floating foundations depending on site conditions. Mechanical systems, photovoltaic receivers, the dual-axis tracking mechanism, and the central energy transfer axis, an insulated structural column, are integrated directly into the architectural anatomy. At night, the underside of the mirror functions as an ambient lighting element powered entirely by the energy generated during the day.

As deployment increases, the Fiji Solar Crown transitions from a single architectural prototype into a scalable territorial system. Smaller units support individual households and farms, mid-scale modules reinforce community infrastructure, and larger crowns anchor high-performance micro-grids, floating settlements, and elevated villages. Across all scales, the system reduces dependence on fossil fuels, stabilizes water supply, moderates microclimates, and establishes a consistent architectural identity rooted in local spatial traditions. The project demonstrates an approach in which architecture operates as an active environmental system, integrating spatial design, structural performance, and resource production into a unified framework suited to climate-vulnerable regions.

stepped public pathways weave through the terrain across an energy-producing architectural ecosystem

MASK Architects conceives a dual-axis concave mirror-integrated settlement embedded within Fiji’s tropical forest

interior spaces frame the forest, water, and light as active components of daily life

the central communal structure integrates shared living, passive cooling, water collection, and daylight control

each living unit is positioned according to slope, vegetation density, and solar exposure, without altering the forest floor

materials include laminated bamboo, local hardwoods, and geopolymer concrete

solar mirror crowns adapt their orientation to the coastal horizon, responding to sun angles throughout the day

at night, the system turns into a soft nocturnal landscape, where stored solar energy powers subtle illumination

project info:

name: World’s First Dual-Axis Concave Mirror Living System Redefining Energy and Water Independence in Fiji

architect: MASK Architects | @maskarchitects

design team: Oznur Pinar Cer, Danilo Petta

location: Fiji

The post fiji living system proposal uses kinetic concave mirrors for energy and water autonomy appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Located on Jambiani beach along Zanzibar’s east coast, Drifting Cloud is a kinetic installation by Vincent Leroy that interacts directly with the wind. The sculptural work is constructed from carbon rods, 3D printed joints, and kite-canvas discs, forming a lightweight structure capable of responding to subtle air currents.

The installation’s modular components move independently while remaining part of a connected whole, generating a dynamic, constantly changing composition. Movements vary according to wind strength, ranging from fine vibrations to broader gestures, producing an organized yet unpredictable rhythm.

all images courtesy of Vincent Leroy

Vincent Leroy integrates coastal context into kinetic artwork

Positioned above the shoreline and amid the seaweed farms, the installation by Paris-based artist Vincent Leroy integrates with its environment without interfering with local activity. Its floating arrangement translates wind into visible motion, offering a spatial and temporal reading of environmental forces. Drifting Cloud demonstrates the interplay between lightweight materials, modular construction, and environmental responsiveness in a coastal context.

Drifting Cloud is a kinetic installation on Jambiani beach, Zanzibar

the work responds directly to the coastal winds

modular components move independently yet remain connected

carbon rods, 3D printed joints, and kite-canvas discs form its lightweight structure

movements shift dynamically with the wind’s strength

each element contributes to an organized yet unpredictable rhythm

Drifting Cloud’s kinetic rhythm mirrors the movement of the shoreline and wind

project info:

name: Drifting Cloud

designer: Vincent Leroy | @vincent_leroy_studio

location: Zanzibar, Tanzania, Africa

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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SANDSARA mini is a kinetic desktop timepiece designed by Eduardo Cano that translates programmed motion into physical patterns drawn in sand. Referencing the spatial logic of Zen gardens, the device combines robotics, material restraint, and sensory design to create an object focused on slow movement and visual rhythm rather than screen-based interaction.

At the core of the device is a SCARA (Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm) mechanism, a system typically used in industrial automation. In SANDSARA mini, the robotic arm is calibrated to control a magnet positioned beneath a sealed bed of fine white sand. A single ferritic stainless steel ball rests on the surface and follows the magnetic movement, tracing algorithmically generated patterns that continuously evolve. Through this process, digital instructions are rendered as physical drawings, producing a visible record of motion over time.

the matte silicone case, tempered glass surface, and minimalist form are designed for durability and quiet presence

Eduardo Cano designs SANDSARA’s newest mini pro version

The object is housed in a compact body finished with a matte silicone surface, available in Deep Black, Moon White, and Frosted Clear. The sand surface is protected by iron-free tempered glass, integrated into the frame and designed for easy removal to allow maintenance or sand replacement. Internal components are optimized for low noise and continuous operation, supporting extended use without mechanical distraction.

The mini version represents the fourth generation of the project and introduces a fully wireless configuration. A built-in rechargeable battery supports up to six hours of operation, enabling the device to function independently of a fixed power source. Additional sensory elements include a perimeter of RGB LEDs that provide adjustable ambient lighting and integrated speakers for ambient sound playback.

Control and customization are managed through a dedicated smartphone application, which allows users to select drawing patterns, schedule sessions, set visual timers, and adjust light and sound settings. These features position SANDSARA mini as a hybrid object that combines robotic precision with tactile materials and slow, repetitive motion, offering an alternative form of interaction shaped by observation rather than direct input.

the internal SCARA robotic arm guides the ball with such accuracy that it can glide right to the perimeter, eliminating wasted space

the hidden SCARA robotic arm, a marvel of micro-engineering, guides the dance with silent accuracy

each algorithmically perfect pattern is a unique meditation, drawn and erased in an endless, calming cycle

the steel ball, guided by the unseen magnet, becomes a perfect draftsman, tracing algorithmic labyrinths with silent accuracy

the integrated RGB lighting casts a soft, ethereal light across your space, transforming the sculpture’s presence from day into night

SANDSARA mini’s matte silicone surface is available in Deep Black, Moon White, and Frosted Clear

the mini version represents the fourth generation of the project and introduces a fully wireless configuration

set Pomodoro timers, alarms, and countdowns that the sandsara draws for you

the SANDSARA’s hypnotic motion and soft light create a screen-free ritual to quiet the mind for sleep

the SANDSARA Mini Pro in Deep Black asserts a quiet, solid presence on the workspace, its form a canvas for the motion within

the SANDSARA Mini Pro introduces an alternative timepiece design

project info:

name: SANDSARA mini | @sandsara.art
designer: Eduardo Cano

The post SANDSARA mini: an ephemeral timepiece that draws infinite patterns in sand appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

As 2025 comes to a close, this final list in our annual round-up pulls together the installations that shaped the most immersive encounters of the year. Across deserts, plazas, courtyards, coastlines, and museums, artists and designers turn movement, light, sound, and material experimentation into living environments that ask us to slow down, listen, and look again.

A single year brought iridescent glass shimmering in the Coachella Valley, a fictional equestrian mystery unfolding inside a New York warehouse, plush flowers blooming under Rockefeller Center’s flags, and a rotating library of 3,000 books glowing at the heart of Milan. Elsewhere, flip-flops became a pneumatic orchestra, porcelain bowls drifted across a vast water basin, inflatables mimicked granite landscapes, recycled mats mapped a nation’s plastic waste, bamboo baskets harvested rain and fog, and a bench began to dance.

Apart from spectacle, what connects these works is the way they reshape public space inviting touch, play, introspection, or collective rhythm. Many of the projects lean into circularity and low-impact construction, while others explore the emotional weight of collective rituals, ancestral crafts, and cultural histories. As we wrap up 2025, these are the ten installations that capture the year’s evolving sensory and spatial imagination.

KIMSOOJA’S GLASS WORK BATHES DESERT X IN IRIDESCENT LIGHT

image by Lance Gerber, courtesy Desert X

For Desert X 2025, Kimsooja presents To Breathe – Coachella Valley, an iridescent glass installation, wrapped in diffraction film that refracts sunlight into a spectrum that evolves throughout the day. The work extends the artist’s long-standing exploration of movement and interconnectedness. Its grid-like surface, etched with vertical and horizontal scratch lines, echoes textile structures.

As the sun moves, the installation behaves like a living canvas, altering both itself and the surrounding view. To Breathe – Coachella Valley also forms a conceptual bridge to her installation in AlUla, linking two arid landscapes through light-based interventions. Infused with East Asian philosophies and resonant with the Light and Space lineage of the American West, the piece underscores the universality of natural elements across distant geographies.

read more here

HERMÈS INSTALLS INTERACTIVE ‘MYSTERY AT THE GROOMS’ IN NYC

image © designboom

At Pier 36 in Manhattan, Hermès stages Mystery at the Grooms’, an immersive installation that turns a former warehouse into a fictional French estate built around a playful disappearance. Visitors move through six theatrical rooms, from the Head Groom’s Office to the Laundry, where lighting, scent, and sound shape a shifting atmosphere.

The experience revolves around a mobile-based hunt for a herd of missing horses, linking digital clues with physical

exploration. Objects from Hermès’ sixteen métiers blend into the scenography, doubling as both set pieces and hiding places, while hidden safes, peepholes, and material details punctuate each space. Performers dressed as grooms guide the journey, joined by the disembodied voice of fictional detective Mr. Honore, who adds narrative momentum. Those who solve the entire mystery receive Hermès-designed keepsakes, as the installation continues its global tour after New York.

read more here

CJ HENDRY’S FLOWER MARKET BLOOMS AT ROCKEFELLER CENTER 

image © Cj Hendry Studio

Cj Hendry brings Flower Market 2.0 to Rockefeller Center, with her greenhouse-like installation filled with hand-crafted plush flowers. Visitors move through rows of oversized botanicals and assemble their own bouquet, extending the work out into the city as blooms circulate through the streets.

This second edition scales up the viral concept, introducing twenty-seven new plush flower designs and placing the installation under the plaza’s world flags, overlooking the iconic sunken courtyard. The immersive setting is accompanied by editioned wall sculptures and limited merchandise that expand the visual language of the project. A satellite Flower Cart at Top of the Rock pushes the installation beyond ground level, offering an exclusive twenty-eighth flower tied to observation-deck entry.

read more here

ES DEVLIN’S ROTATING LIBRARY LIGHTS UP MILAN COURTYARD

all images by Monica Spezia

Es Devlin transforms the 17th-century Cortile d’Onore into a revolving sanctuary of books with Library of Light, a kinetic installation that casts the historic courtyard as a luminous theater of reflection. The 18-meter-wide circular structure holds more than 3,000 illuminated books, rotating slowly to redirect sunlight by day and becoming a glowing lantern by night. Visitors read, pause, or step into readings and performances embedded within the library’s program, turning the installation into a living cultural space.

Mirrors, moving light, and shifting shadows interact with the courtyard’s colonnades, while recorded voices, from Benedict Cumberbatch to Devlin herself, echo through the space. The work draws inspiration from the neighboring Braidense National Library and the legacy of Maria Gaetana Agnesi, whose presence within the courtyard resonates with Devlin’s focus on knowledge, introspection, and the transmission of ideas. As books donated by Feltrinelli circulate through the installation and back into the Milan Library System, Library of Light becomes an evolving public archive.

read more here

MERIEM BENNANI STAGES A 201-FLIP-FLOP ORCHESTRA IN PARIS 

all images by Aurélien Mole

Meriem Bennani employs the humble flip-flop and creates a kinetic orchestra for Sole Crushing, a large-scale installation within the vertical volume of Lafayette Anticipations with 201 pneumatically animated sandals. The work becomes a living instrument shaped by ladders, spirals, floor clusters, and a suspended drum pulse with coordinated beats composed in collaboration with producer Reda Senhaji (Cheb Runner).

Each flip-flop strikes different surfaces, including wood, plexiglass, fabric, and metal, resulting in a shifting percussive environment where visitors can walk through. Drawing from Moroccan rhythmic traditions like dakka marrakchia, Bennani channels the ecstatic energy of crowds, chants, and collective rituals. The installation builds toward a shared pulse that feels equal parts protest, stadium fever, and street celebration. Her use of flip-flops, cheap, elastic, universal, transforms an everyday object into a metaphor for play, resistance, and the democratic nature of communal rhythm. 

read more here 

WATER-DRIVEN SOUNDSCAPE FILLS BOURSE DE COMMERCE 

image courtesy of Bourse de Commerce—Pinault Collection

Céleste Boursier-Mougenot transforms the Rotunda of the Bourse de Commerce into an aquatic soundscape with clinamen, an installation where porcelain bowls drift across an eighteen-meter basin and create delicate, unpredictable chimes as they collide.

The still surface mirrors the dome of the museum, turning the space into a quiet, resonant field of water, movement, and sound. The work expands the artist’s long exploration of self-regulating sonic systems. Powered by invisible currents, the bowls operate like a living organism, producing music that resists control and evolves moment by moment. The Rotunda’s circular geometry, framed by Tadao Ando’s concrete ring and capped by the glass roof, amplifies this sense of breath and atmosphere. Drawing on the Epicurean idea of clinamen, or the random swerve of atoms, the installation embraces chance as its central force. 

read more here

ENESS’ INFLATABLE ROCKSCAPE GLOWS IN MELBOURNE 

all images courtesy of Ben Weinstein

ENESS brings Iwagumi Air Scape to Prahran Square, installing a field of large inflatable rock forms that play with perception and scale. Inspired by the Japanese concept of Iwagumi, the work introduces a sculptural landscape that interrupts the urban setting with an artificial wilderness. By day, the inflatables mimic granite through detailed photographic textures; by night, they glow with shifting light and an immersive soundscape.

Sixteen air-filled structures create narrow passages and canyon-like routes that visitors can walk through. As people move across the site, sounds of native birds, insects, and flowing water activate unpredictably, weaving natural atmospheres into the city’s ambient noise. Founder Nimrod Weis frames the project as a contemporary interpretation of Japanese rock gardens, a playful translation of traditional stone compositions into soft, inflatable forms.

read more here 

MVRDV’S WOVEN MEGA MAT TRANSFORMS PLASTIC WASTE

image © Depth of Field Co.

MVRDV presents Mega Mat in central Bangkok, transforming more than 500 recycled plastic mats into an 860-square-meter public platform that doubles as a data-driven artwork on Thailand’s plastic waste crisis. The modular installation reinterprets the traditional Thai sua-mat at urban scale, turning Laan Kon Muang Plaza into a colorful communal surface for sitting, gathering, and learning.

Color functions as both texture and information: red, orange, yellow, and green map the flows of plastic waste across the country, from unprotected landfills to the percentage that is actually recycled. One elevated corner forms a shaded exhibition space, echoing the rooflines of nearby temples and offering visitors an interactive look into Thailand’s recycling system. After Bangkok Design Week, the installation was dismantled and repurposed, redistributed to temples, reused as yoga mats, or upcycled into bags.

read more here 

CANALSIDE STUDIO’S BASKETS COLLECT RAINWATER IN HONG KONG 

image courtesy of Canalside Studio

Canalside Studio introduces the Blue Water Catcher in the rural landscape of Kuk Po, Hong Kong fraturing five large, droplet-shaped structures made from painted rattan, bamboo, and porous fabric that act as both sculptural markers and functional devices, collecting rain and fog through a modular, low-impact system. The installation revives historical irrigation practices from the former Hakka village, echoing the old networks that once sustained local agriculture.

Plastic pipes reference these vanished infrastructures, now enveloped by wetlands that support mangroves, egrets, and mudskippers. Each structure channels mist or rainfall into a nearby well, anchored by water-filled counterweights buried in the soil. Lightweight and transportable, the Blue Water Catcher is designed for remote deployment and educational use. Its vibrant blue forms stand in sharp contrast to the landscape, drawing on visual cues from large-scale environmental artworks. The installation can be dismantled, moved, and reassembled, reinforcing its role as a tool for environmental awareness and hands-on learning around water scarcity.

read more here 

SOFT BAROQUE’S KINETIC BENCH SWAYS AND TWISTS IN SPAIN 

image courtesy of Josema Cutillas

Soft Baroque brings movement into the public realm with the Dancing Bench, a kinetic installation presented at Concéntrico in Logroño. What looks like a simple geometric bench reveals its true character only when someone sits down. Then, parallel planes rotate under the weight of the user, creating a gentle ripple that shifts perception and turns sitting into a shared, slightly uncanny motion. The bench transforms a passive piece of street furniture into an active participant in public space. As users sway or shift, the structure sways with them, creating an experience that sits somewhere between a rocking chair and a hammock. The piece draws on mid-century visual cues while pushing them toward performative ends. The crisp geometry and minimal palette veil a playful, meditative mechanism that only comes alive in use, reimagining everyday urban furniture as an instrument of motion and attention.

read more here 

see designboom’s TOP 10 stories archive:

2024 — 2023 — 2022 — 2021 — 2020 — 2019 —  2018 — 2017 — 2016 — 2015 — 2014 — 2013

The post TOP 10 installations of 2025 appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Es Devlin unveils Library of Us, a vast, glowing amphitheater of books, sound, and movement that serves as the major centerpiece of Faena Art Miami Art Week 2025. Marking ten years of Faena Art in Miami Beach, Devlin’s commission stretches across the shoreline as a kinetic, 6-meter-tall triangular bookshelf that rotates on its axis, its reflection amplified by a surrounding pool and a circular reading table that seats hundreds.

On view until December 7th, 2025, the installation acts as a public library, an illuminated sculpture, and an arena for collective reading, forming the core of a district-wide program of talks, performances, and communal rituals. Beyond its physical scale, Library of Us continues Devlin’s ongoing investigation into libraries as kinetic sculptures. Earlier in 2025 she presented Library of Light at the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan, where daily collective readings drew nearly 200,000 visitors (find designboom’s previous coverage here). 

all images by Sunn Studio

a kinetic library that reorganizes time and encounter

At the center of the beach installation sits the 15-meter-long triangular bookshelf, holding 2,500 books and a continuous 10-meter LED line that streams text across its spine. The entire structure turns once every ten minutes, creating a quiet, perceptible drift that affects the people seated around it. Visitors read at a two-ring circular table, an outer circle that stays still and an inner circle that rotates with the sculpture, resulting in shifting perspectives. Every slow rotation introduces a new passage, a new neighbor across the table, and a subtle sense of shared temporality.

A 250-excerpt audio score, read by Devlin herself, lays out a polyphonic field of voices, memories, and literary fragments, underscored by music. Materials such as steel, marine plywood, mirror, water, and LED turn the beach into a reflective, fluid environment where text moves at the pace of tides and pages.

When the week concludes, all 2,500 books from Library of Us, supplied through a partnership with Penguin Random House, will be donated to public libraries, schools, and community organizations across Miami.

Es Devlin unveils Library of Us

reading room and tracing time expand the project indoors

Two additional commissions complement the beach installation and deepen Devlin’s study of reading, time, and community. In the Faena Cathedral, the Reading Room appears as a 14-meter bench with an integrated bookshelf and LED screen. The work is built from phrases contributed by the entire Faena hotel staff, housekeeping, gardeners, restaurant teams, security, maintenance, and long-time collaborators. Devlin reads these texts aloud throughout the day as the phrases rise along the display, offering a participatory portrait of a hotel rendered through the books, songs, and poems that shape the lives of the people who work within it.

Meanwhile, in the Faena Art Project Room, Tracing Time presents drawings and paintings on glass, paper, and TV screens. These works offer a close reading of Devlin’s process, its layers, repetitions, and mark-making, mirroring the slow accumulations that define her large-scale installations. Together, the three works form a rare survey of Devlin’s multidisciplinary practice, bridging sound, architecture, text, scenography, and performance through the shared concern of how communities gather around language. 

a vast, glowing amphitheater of books, sound, and movement | image by Oriol Tarridas

the major centerpiece of Faena Art Miami Art Week 2025

Devlin’s commission stretches across the shoreline as a kinetic, 6-meter-tall triangular bookshelf

the installation rotates on its axis | image by Oriol Tarridas

a surrounding pool reflects the bookshelf | image by Oriol Tarridas

a reading table that seats hundreds encircles Library of Us | image by Oriol Tarridas

the 15-meter-long triangular bookshelf holds 2,500 books | image by Oriol Tarridas

the entire structure turns once every ten minutes

a continuous 10-meter LED line streams text across its spine | image by Oriol Tarridas

an outer circle stays still and an inner circle rotates with the sculpture | image by Oriol Tarridas

every slow rotation introduces a new passage | image by Oriol Tarridas

steel, marine plywood, mirror, water, and LED turn the beach into a reflective, fluid environment

text moves at the pace of tides and pages

when the week concludes, all 2,500 books from Library of Us will be donated | image by Oriol Tarridas

a public library, an illuminated sculpture, and an arena for collective reading | image by Oriol Tarridas

project info:

name: Library of Us

artist: Es Devlin | @esdevlin

location: Faena Beach, Miami Beach, Florida

dates: December 1st–7th, 2025

commissioned by: Faena Art | @faenaart

The post es devlin’s triangular bookshelf rotates within a mirrored pool for miami art week 2025 appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Installed above the Caen peninsula in Normandy, Molecular Cloud is a suspended kinetic sculpture composed of mirrored stainless-steel spheres arranged in a cloud-like formation. Designed by French artist Vincent Leroy for the Millennium of the city of Caen, the project introduces a reflective structure that interacts directly with its urban and atmospheric surroundings.

Positioned between the city’s new peninsula district and the historic Abbaye aux Dames, the installation establishes a visual link between the area’s historical and contemporary layers. The spheres form a constellation-like cluster that reflects the city, sky, and movement of passers-by, generating continuously shifting visual conditions. As viewers move beneath the suspended elements, the mirrored surfaces multiply and distort their surroundings, producing a perceptual field that changes with angle, distance, and light.

all images courtesy of Vincent Leroy

light reflects upon the kinetic installation’s mirrored form

Artist Vincent Leroy’s work relies entirely on natural illumination. Without integrated lighting, the installation responds to variations in weather, sunlight, and time of day, creating different tones and reflections throughout the day and across seasons. This dependence on ambient conditions positions the piece as a dynamic component of the local environment, rather than a fixed visual object. Visible from a distance, Molecular Cloud functions as a new marker along Caen’s waterfront while also operating as a pedestrian-scale intervention. The structure defines a space for gathering and observation, offering an accessible encounter with reflective geometry and spatial distortion.

The project continues Leroy’s investigation into movement, perception, and the interplay between form and environment. Here, the mirrored spheres serve as a device for reframing familiar urban and natural elements through repetition, reflection, and spatial suspension.

Molecular Cloud floats above the Caen peninsula as a suspended cluster of mirrored spheres

the installation reflects the sky and city, creating shifting visuals throughout the day

from within, the cloud frames a suspended window opening onto the sky

viewers walking beneath the cloud see their surroundings multiplied and distorted

the installation acts as both a large-scale marker and an intimate pedestrian space

reflections of the city and sky animate the spheres’ surfaces in constant motion

Molecular Cloud installation rests beneath the Abbaye aux Dames

the piece transforms familiar urban scenes through repetition and spatial suspension

natural light drives the installation’s changing tones and atmospheric effects

mirrored stainless-steel spheres form a cloud-like composition over the waterfront

the structure introduces a reflective landmark to Caen’s evolving urban landscape

project info:

name: Molecular Cloud

designer: Vincent Leroy | @vincent_leroy_studio

commissioner: Ville de Caen / Le Millénaire de Caen

manufacturer: Blam / Nantes

engineering monitoring: Ingé-Infra / Hérouville-Saint-Clair

dimensions: 11,50m x 8m x 8m

materials: Stainless Steel

location: Caen, Normandy, 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 mirrored steel bubbles shape suspended kinetic sculpture by vincent leroy in normandy appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Turin-based engineering firm Leva has developed a large-scale kinetic face installation for L’Épée du Roi Arthur, one of the performances at France’s Puy du Fou historical theme park. The permanent outdoor structure takes the form of a moving face, integrated into a tower, which animates during the show to represent the sorceress Morgane.

The installation combines mechanical precision with theatrical staging. Measuring 12 sqm, the sculpture is composed of 206 custom-designed modules, each driven by a linear actuator with a 70-cm travel range. These elements work together to create a continuously moving surface capable of fluid, lifelike expression while remaining durable under outdoor performance conditions.

all images courtesy of Leva

kinetic face demonstrates the role of motion in stage design

At the core of the project is Leva’s proprietary motion control system, which synchronizes the movements of every actuator. This allows the face to perform nuanced gestures and shifts that integrate into the show’s narrative. The design team optimized the arrangement of modules to maximize visual resolution, ensuring the sculpture’s geometry remains clear and legible from audience viewing distances.

The material and structural strategies emphasize both efficiency and long-term operability. Maintenance requirements were considered during the design phase, with modular construction simplifying future adjustments. The result is a dynamic wall sculpture that merges engineering with performance design, enhancing the immersive qualities of the Arthurian story. Leva’s kinetic face installation at Puy du Fou extends the company’s portfolio of large-scale kinetic works. Previous projects include the world’s largest kinetic wall for Aramco’s VIP innovation center and an interactive tunnel inspired by desert dunes in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.

Leva designs a kinetic face for Puy du Fou’s L’Épée du Roi Arthur

the moving sculpture represents the sorceress Morgane on stage

a 12-square-meter surface animates within a stone tower

the installation merges engineering precision with live performance

206 custom modules form the expressive moving face

together, the modules create lifelike and fluid motion

optimized module layout ensures visual resolution and clarity

the kinetic face integrates into the show’s narrative

the dynamic sculpture enhances immersion in the Arthurian story

project info:

name: Kinetic Face
designer-engineer: Leva | @leva.io

location: Puy Du Fou, Les Epesses, France

client: Puy Du Fou

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Inside the 600-year-old Grote Kerk Veere in Zeeland, Netherlands, artists Ludmila Rodrigues and Mike Rijnierse present Buoyants, a site-specific installation that transforms the church nave into a fluid, underwater-like environment. The work combines a kinetic sculpture in lightweight fabric with a multichannel soundscape, reinterpreting the lost Gothic ceiling while emphasizing the region’s deep connection with water.

Buoyants by Ludmila Rodrigues and Mike Rijnierse for the Grote Kerk Veere, in Zeeland, Netherlands, 2025 | all images by Benjamin van der Spek

a spatial choreography of fabric, sound, and light

The installation by creative Ludmila Rodrigues and artist Mike Rijnierse integrates three key elements: a suspended sculpture made of green voile, a spatial sound environment, and landing platforms where visitors can recline to experience both sound and vibration. The sculpture, positioned seven meters above ground, is animated by a custom mechanical system developed by Rob Bothof. Its slow movements resemble wave patterns and sea life while echoing the verticality and geometry of Gothic vaults.

Sound plays a central role in the project. Composed by Ji-Youn Kang, the two-hour soundscape is designed as a vertical layering of tones, guiding attention upward and into the space. Low frequencies are transmitted into the landing platforms, allowing visitors to feel the vibrations physically.

Buoyants transforms the nave of Grote Kerk Veere into a fluid, underwater-like landscape

Gothic Dutch Church turns into Underwater-Like Space

Buoyants reflects on the cultural and environmental history of Zeeland, a region long shaped by tides, floods, and rising sea levels. The artists approached water as both a material and temporal continuum, connecting the distant past of oceanic origins with the uncertain future shaped by climate change. At the same time, the work re-imagines the architectural grandeur of the church’s medieval ceiling, lost centuries ago, by creating a contemporary spatial choreography of fabric, sound, and light.

a suspended green voile sculpture reinterprets the lost Gothic ceiling

the fabric element hovers seven meters above the nave, animated by custom mechanics

a multichannel soundscape fills the nave with layered, spatial tones

visitors recline on platforms to experience both sound and movement

the work creates a dialogue between architecture, water, and environment

the sculptures’ slow movements resemble waves, sea life, and water currents

the kinetic sculpture shifts slowly, producing ever-changing visual rhythms

the suspended lightweight green voile achieves fluidity and motion

‘furry islands’ within the space enhance visitors’ tactile experience

project info:

name: ‘Buoyants’ art installation at Grote Kerk Veere
designers: Ludmila Rodrigues | @thebodyoftheaudience + Mike Rijnierse | @mikerijnierse

materials: voile, nylon rope, electronics, 8:4:3 multichannel sound installation

soundscape: Ji Youn Kang

motion engineering: Rob Bothof

3D rendering assistance: Sofia Chionidou

sound engineering: Dario Giustarini

seamstress: Tessa Bekker

wood work: Bas de Boer

intern: Norah van Lith

photographer: Benjamin van der Spek

drone footage: Wilbert Calhouw

commissioned by: Grote Kerk Veere in cooperation with CBK Zeeland

supported by: Municipality of Veere, Zeeland’s Province, the Mondriaan Fund, the Familiefonds Hurgronje, Hoogwerkt, AutoHopper, Quartair, and the Embassy of Brazil

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Installed in front of Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), Molecular Cloud is a kinetic sculpture by French artist Vincent Leroy. The work draws inspiration from cosmic molecular formations, translating them into a floating, cloud-like structure suspended within the urban setting. The piece is part of DDP Design & Art in Seoul, whose 2025 edition explores the theme of movement.

The installation consists of large mirrored spheres tinted in glossy pink. These elements reflect the surrounding environment, sky, buildings, and passersby, creating a constantly shifting interplay of light and form. Slowly, the spheres move in relation to one another, generating fluid and changing compositions. The motion suggests organic breathing, achieved through a calibrated balance between geometric structure and mechanical precision.

all images by Vcollective – Shirley Xie – Titi Lee unless stated otherwise

Moving mirrored pink spheres capture Seoul’s changing light

Positioned against the backdrop of Zaha Hadid’s DDP, Molecular Cloud establishes a dialogue with the building’s flowing, metallic architecture. The contrast between the static structure and the moving sculpture highlights different approaches to material, form, and reflection. Together, they produce an environment where light, shadow, and surface interact in continuous variation.

The project was originally conceived by the artist in Paris and first presented in California at the Coachella Festival in 2023. For its installation in Seoul, it was fabricated in Guangzhou and realized through collaboration with a Hong Kong–based production agency, underlining its international scope. By combining reflective material, kinetic engineering, and spatial placement, Vincent Leroy’s Molecular Cloud explores the intersection of sculpture, architecture, and environment. Its slow movements invite observation and pause within the pace of the city, encouraging an experience of space defined as much by stillness as by motion.

Vincent Leroy’s kinetic sculpture evokes cosmic molecular formations

glossy pink mirrored spheres form the floating cloud-like structure

the installation reflects sky, city, and passersby in shifting patterns

Molecular Cloud’s poles mirror the building’s traffic people axes

spheres hover lightly against Zaha Hadid’s metallic architecture | image by Seoul_4K

movement suggests a rhythmic breathing within the urban setting

Molecular Cloud explores stillness, movement, and spatial perception

slow motion transforms the spheres into fluid, organic compositions

Molecular Cloud installed in front of Seoul’s Dongdaemun Design Plaza

project info:

name: Molecular Cloud

designer: Vincent Leroy | @vincent_leroy_studio

location: Seoul, Korea

host: DDP Design & Art in Seoul | @ddp_seoul

curator: Minsoo Kim – Seoul Design Foundation | @seoul_design_foundation

production: Vcollective – Shirley Xie | @vcollective_ltd

exhibition agency: DesignNuha

photography and video: Vcollective – Shirley Xie – Titi Lee | @vcollective_ltd

photography number 6: Seoul_4K | @Seoul_4K

music video: Emile Kôji | @emile.koji

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