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

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Located in the center of Ljubljana, Water Sculpture LJ is a site-specific public artwork realized by M.KOCBEK architects and P PLUS arhitekti nine years after winning a public design competition. Conceived as a spatial intervention within the city’s dense urban fabric, the sculpture introduces a defined micro-environment that operates as a small urban platform. Its continuous, rounded geometry establishes a distinct spatial condition that contrasts with the surrounding movement of the city while remaining visually and physically accessible.

The mirrored sculpture is formed as a continuous spatial loop that frames views and directs movement, producing a sequence of changing visual perspectives. Rather than functioning as an object to be observed from a distance, the installation is designed as an inhabitable structure that supports movement, sitting, and tactile engagement. The spatial configuration allows passers-by to move through and within the form, integrating everyday use into the experience of the artwork and positioning it as part of the public realm rather than a detached sculptural object.

all images by Ana Skobe

Water Flow and Reflective Surfaces Animate the Urban Context

Water circulation is integrated as a central design element, reinforcing themes of movement, continuity, and flow. The presence of water operates both spatially and symbolically, referencing natural cycles and processes through continuous motion. This integration positions the sculpture as an interface between material form and environmental dynamics, linking physical presence with less tangible phenomena such as circulation, transformation, and connectivity.

For the designers Mojca Kocbek of M.KOCBEK architects and Primož Boršič of P PLUS arhitekti, material selection plays a key role in the project’s interaction with its context. The sculpture is constructed from stainless steel, chosen for its reflective properties and durability in an urban environment. Its surface mirrors surrounding activity, light conditions, and weather, causing the sculpture’s appearance to shift throughout the day. Under different atmospheric conditions, the form alternately asserts itself or visually recedes, responding to changes in light, sky, and movement around it.

Water Sculpture LJ is located in the center of Ljubljana as a site-specific public artwork

Water Sculpture LJ functions as a spatial landmark within Ljubljana’s public space network. Designed to connect rather than divide, it supports multiple forms of engagement while maintaining an open relationship with its surroundings. Through its spatial continuity, material responsiveness, and integration of water, the project contributes a flexible public element that operates at the intersection of art, landscape, and urban infrastructure.

the sculpture introduces a defined micro-environment within the dense urban fabric

a continuous, rounded geometry establishes a distinct spatial condition

the mirrored surface contrasts with the movement of the surrounding city

the sculpture is formed as a continuous spatial loop

the installation produces a sequence of changing visual perspectives

the surface mirrors light, weather, and surrounding urban activity

passers-by move through and within the sculptural form

project info:

name: Water Sculpture LJ
designers: M.KOCBEK architects – Mojca Kocbek | @mojcakocbek, P PLUS arhitekti – Primož Boršič | @pplusarhitekti

investor: Municipality of Ljubljana

location: Slovenska cesta, Ljubljana, Slovenia

area: 150 sqm

photographer: Ana Skobe | @anaskobe

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

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

all images courtesy of studio mo man tai

8,800 mirrored flowers compose Reflecting Diverseness

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

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

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

studio mo man tai reuses discarded acrylic

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

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

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

light, reflection, and statistics fold into one another

rethinking how information can be felt before it is understood

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

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

inviting reflection using sensory surprise

engaging with themes often flattened by repetitive or misleading communication

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

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

viewers encounter a shimmering expanse of mirror fragments

leftover acrylic mirror sheets act as both medium and message

facets fracture and scatter light across the room

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

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

translating datasets into experimental, optimistic visual forms

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

project info:

name: Reflecting Diverseness

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

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

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

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

Karolina Halatek Reimagines Monument as interactive Experience

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

project info:

name: Relic for Noor Riyadh

artist: Karolina Halatek | @karolinahalatek

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

materials: steel, stainless steel, acrylic

dimensions: 300 x 600 (base diameter)

event: Noor Riyadh Festival | @noorriyadhfestival

production: TETRO+A | @tetro_agency

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

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

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

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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

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October 2025 marked a quiet but seismic shift in Hanoi’s public realm when Vietnamese artist Tia-Thuy Nguyen unveiled ‘A Luminous Forest’ in a central urban park. Far from another ornamental fixture, the installation turns collective memory into a living, breathing encounter. It sidesteps the frozen authority of traditional monuments and instead assembles an abstract constellation of light that pulses with the city’s own rhythm. Metal, glass, ceramics, illumination, and subtle sound weave together to enrich the urban landscape, inviting art, nature, and everyday life into a renewed conversation.

At the heart of the work stand eighteen mirror-polished stainless-steel columns, each rising twelve meters and hand-welded into a perfect twelve-meter circle. Visitors do not merely observe; they enter, move through, and complete the piece. The steel’s severity is tempered by delicate interventions rooted in Vietnam’s craft legacy: mouth-blown glass blossoms, hand-thrown ceramic forms, stainless-steel doves, and spinning pinwheels. Rigidity meets fluidity, industrial precision meets ancestral touch, and the result is a visual cadence that shifts with sunlight, weather, and human motion. In Tia’s hands, light is never decoration; it is the vital medium, refracting through glass, skating across metal, and conjuring a forest that feels both solid and spectral.

The making of the forest spanned thousands of hours and unfolded as a deliberate act of reverence for manual skill in an age of mechanized dominance. Tia worked shoulder-to-shoulder with master welders, ceramicists, glassblowers, and floral artisans, preserving Vietnam’s artisanal patrimony while folding it into the global language of contemporary practice. Engineered to withstand Hanoi’s relentless sun, monsoon downpours, and gusting winds, the installation stands as resilient testimony to human dexterity, every weld seam and vitreous petal a signature of singular and collective labor. Building on the momentum of her earlier 2025 commission, ‘Resurrection’, completed at the end of April and featured in designboom magazine, ‘A Luminous Forest’ represents Tia’s second major public art in Hanoi this year. The two projects together signal a broader evolution in the capital’s approach to renewal: moving beyond cosmetic greening toward deeper cultural and social resonance. Public art is no longer peripheral; it has become a vital layer of the city’s civic and spiritual fabric, cultivating local identity, fostering belonging, and injecting fresh energy into Hanoi’s creative life.

all images courtesy of Tia-Thuy Nguyen

The Forest as Conceptual Anchor: Art Symbolism and Innovation

The conceptual seed of art lies in Vietnam’s primordial forests, which are places of refuge, sustenance, and communal endurance across centuries of history. The steel columns do not mimic trees; they allegorize aggregated vitality and quietly evoke the revolutionary image of a hundred banners raised in unison. Inside the circle, industrial starkness collides with handcrafted softness, opacity with gleam, producing an ever-changing visual rhythm. More than a sculpture, ‘A Luminous Forest’ is a restorative overture. It radiates shared memory through light and human proximity, proposing a fresh archetype for Vietnamese public art: anchored in historiography yet fluent in global contemporaneity. Memory here is freed from the archive; it remains luminous, vital, and continuously remade by the daily gaze of passersby.

Vietnamese artist Tia-Thuy Nguyen’s Public Art trajectory is anchored in nature, energy, and urban artistic flow. In recent years, Tia’s public work has gravitated toward nature, energy, and the fluid currents of city life. Forests recur as emblems of resilience and collective narrative; light serves as a dynamic medium to animate shared space. By collaborating with traditional artisans, she safeguards Vietnam’s craft heritage against industrial erosion while positioning art as a regenerative force, nurturing identity, reconnecting people with the natural world, and syncing with metropolitan tempo.

A Luminous Forest’ introduces a new public installation in a central Hanoi park

the project transforms collective memory into an evolving spatial experience

the installation reinforces public art as a growing part of the city’s civic landscape

visitors move through the twelve-meter ring, completing the work through their presence

eighteen mirror-polished stainless-steel columns form the circular structure

reflections shift across the steel surfaces as sunlight and weather change

hand-thrown ceramic forms are integrated into the installation’s vertical structure

stainless-steel doves and pinwheels introduce movement within the composition

the installation adapts to the natural rhythm of the city’s daily cycles

material contrasts create a dialogue between rigidity and softness

light refracts through glass components, generating a layered visual effect

mouth-blown glass elements reference Vietnam’s traditional craft techniques

the project foregrounds Vietnam’s artisanal heritage within a contemporary framework

project info:

name: A Luminous Forest
designer: Tia Thuy Nguyen | @tia.thuynguyen

location: Hanoi, Vietnam

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Lyon-based artist Cyril Lancelin continues his exploration of immersive geometric forms with Circle Stars, a monumental inflatable sculpture. Installed in the historic courtyard of Étrépagny’s media library in northern France, the work was presented as part of Spot, a group exhibition organized by the Department of Eure for the European Heritage Days.

The installation forms a giant three-dimensional constellation, composed of tubular, star-shaped loops that interlock to create a circular, airy volume. The reflective silver skin amplifies the play of daylight and mirrors the surrounding architecture, stone arcades, pitched roofs, and the sky, dissolving the boundary between the artwork and its context. The site-specific installation occupies the center of the library’s cloister garden, framing the historic statue and establishing a dialogue between contemporary inflatable technology and centuries-old masonry. Seen from the arcades or from beneath the sculpture, visitors perceive shifting reflections of the courtyard and sky, while the dynamic geometry suggests a frozen moment of cosmic expansion.

all images courtesy of Cyril Lancelin

Light, Form, and Heritage Intersect in Cyril Lancelin’s installation

For Cyril Lancelin, the project extends his ongoing investigation into volumetric drawings in space, ephemeral yet architectural. The star motif symbolizes guidance and imagination; the circle speaks of continuity and unity. Together, they create a kind of accessible monument that is both playful and meditative, inviting visitors to walk around and under it, to witness how the mirrored tubes catch sunlight, clouds, or night illumination. As the day progresses, the surface behaves like a living lens, absorbing and redistributing the landscape. Under overcast skies, it appears almost liquid; in bright sun, it fragments the courtyard into flashes of light.

Circle Stars continues the artist’s mission to bring large-scale, participatory sculptures into public and cultural spaces, reimagining how viewers relate to both geometry and place. At the Médiathèque d’Étrépagny, the piece not only offers a striking visual experience but also reactivates the heritage site as a social and contemplative hub, drawing attention to the interplay between history, architecture, and contemporary creativity. 

Circle Stars by Cyril Lancelin occupies the courtyard of Étrépagny’s media library in northern France

the installation forms a monumental constellation of interlocking tubular stars

reflective silver surfaces mirror the courtyard’s stone arcades and surrounding sky

contemporary inflatable technology contrasts with centuries-old masonry

from beneath the structure, visitors see shifting reflections of light and architecture

the mirrored skin changes appearance with the movement of clouds and sunlight

the installation reinterprets drawing in space through three-dimensional volume

the star motif represents guidance and imagination

visitors can walk beneath the sculpture, engaging with its mirrored environment

in bright sunlight, reflections fragment into flashes across the courtyard

under overcast skies, the surface takes on a fluid, almost liquid quality

the sculpture creates an airy circular volume within the historic cloister garden

project info:

name: Circle Stars

designer: Cyril Lancelin | @town.and.concrete

client: Department of Eure

production: Behind the Curtain

manufacturer: Air Toile Concept

curator: Aurélie Roperh

location: Médiathèque d’Etrépagny, France

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KAPIA is a site-specific timber and mirror installation designed by GRRIZ for Annecy Paysages 2025, located on the Sainte-Thérèse du Québec footbridge along the Thiou river in Annecy, France. The project seeks to transform a simple point of passage into a place of pause, encounter, and contemplation. The design draws inspiration from the kapia of traditional Ottoman bridges in the Balkans, architectural pauses at the center of bridges, historically conceived as civic spaces for exchange and dialogue. On the existing footbridge, two fixed benches were already placed at the midpoint, discreetly suggesting a moment of rest. GRRIZ chose to enhance this latent potential by constructing an architectural canopy that defines the space, offers shelter, and amplifies one’s perceptual engagement with the landscape.

KAPIA blends with the Thiou river and surrounding greenery | all images by Wilfrid Bof unless stated otherwise

GRRIZ clads geometric timber canopy in mirrored dibond panels

The structure is entirely built from Douglas fir timber, assembled as a lightweight frame that rests delicately on the existing bridge without altering its geometry or circulation. This reversible approach was a technical challenge for GRRIZ creative studio, requiring precise detailing to anchor the intervention while respecting the existing infrastructure. The timber elements are finished in a coral-toned protective coating, chosen to establish a chromatic resonance with both the urban fabric and the natural vegetation of the site. Above, the canopy is clad in mirrored dibond panels, a reflective composite material that captures and refracts the changing qualities of sky, light, and water. These mirrored surfaces generate shifting, almost painterly reflections that evolve with weather conditions and the presence of passersby, introducing a dynamic, expressionist dimension to the work.

side perspective showing the mirrored upperside reflecting sky and trees

canopy creates chromatic and reflective dialogue with the river

KAPIA thus emerges as a functional sculpture: a suspended threshold, open to all, belonging to none. It invites pedestrians and cyclists to slow down, sit, observe, and reconnect with the river and the city. Through its minimal geometry and play of reflections, the intervention redefines the perception of a familiar passage, turning it into a shared space of attention and imagination. The project was developed by GRRIZ following the invitation of curator David Moinard, and produced by Bonlieu Scène nationale Annecy.

the coral-toned canopy emerges at the center of the Sainte-Thérèse footbridge

the bridge is transformed into a place of pause and encounter

detail of the structure lightly resting on the existing bridge

pedestrian approach, highlighting the integration within daily urban life

geometric rhythm of the coral-painted timber structure

detail of intersecting frames and mirrored surfaces, creating layered views

close-up of the Douglas fir frame and mirrored surfaces | image by Mattia Paco Rizzi

abstract reflection of the landscape captured by the mirrored canopy

dynamic play of light and colors on the reflective underside

shifting moiré-like reflections evoking a painterly effect

project info:

name: KAPIA
architect: GRRIZ | @grriz_studio

design team: Mattia Paco Rizzi, Luigi Greco, Giulia Cerrato

location: Sainte-Thérèse du Québec footbridge, Annecy, France

materials: Douglas fir timber, mirrored dibond

dimensions: 7.6 × 4 × 2.5 m

photographer: Wilfrid Bof, Mattia Paco Rizzi

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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Hello Wood introduces PEBL grand, a rotatable and modular wooden cabin with a mirror-like facade. Because it is a movable camping structure, multiple units of the same pebble-shaped home can be relocated and assembled together. In a way, it addresses the common limitation in traditional architecture, where buildings are typically fixed in their orientation and configuration. The core structure uses Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT). It consists of multiple layers of wood planks glued together with grain directions alternating at 90-degree angles. 

This creates a material that’s robust and dimensionally stable, similar to how plywood gains strength from its layered construction, but much thicker and sturdier. The CLT core gets wrapped in insulating and waterproof layers, creating a sandwich construction for weather protection and insulation. It allows the wooden cabin PEBL Grand to maintain comfortable interior conditions while protecting the structural wood from moisture and temperature variations.

all images courtesy of Hello Wood | photos by György Palkó and Márton Bognár

Stone, aluminum and wood for the facade

Even the exterior of the wooden cabin PEBL Grand is modular. Hello Wood says that the home can receive different surface treatments: wood for natural environments, stone for rustic settings, aluminum for modern contexts, or even mirrored surfaces for dramatic visual effects. CNC machines can cut complex three-dimensional shapes with millimeter precision, allowing the company to create curved and irregular geometries that may not be possible to achieve with traditional construction methods. The low-poly design language refers to the angular, faceted surfaces. 

The aesthetic choice serves both functional and visual purposes. The angular surfaces shed water effectively, create light and shadow patterns, and allow for efficient manufacturing using CNC cutting techniques. Despite the compact footprint, the interiors of the wooden cabin PEBL Grand maximize functionality and space. It includes a king-size bed, dining area, kitchen, bathroom, and even a panoramic infrared sauna, essentially placing the amenities of a luxury hotel suite into a cabin in the woods.

Hello Wood introduces PEBL grand, a rotatable and modular timber-made cabin with a mirror-like facade

prefabricated architecture that arrives fully assembled

The PEBL Grand reimagines prefabricated architecture since the units arrive fully assembled and ready for immediate installation. For international projects, the cabins ship flat-packed in standard shipping containers. The Hungarian company developed the concept of the wooden cabin PEBL Grand over four years, starting with a custom airplane-shaped cabin called the Jet House for a client’s daughter before it evolved into a commercial system. 

The team says that the project is an experiment in how architecture can adapt and evolve to meet the current structural demands, including mobility, sustainability, speed, and experience. As a response, the Hungarian design studio has created a piece that embodies the future of small-scale architecture using sculptural aesthetics, a unique structural system, and an environmentally conscious approach. For them, it not only opens up new paths in architecture but also offers practical solutions for different needs in various locations around the world.

multiple units of the same pebble-shaped home can be relocated and assembled together

the core structure consists of multiple layers of wood planks glued together

even the exterior of the wooden cabin PEBL Grand is modular

Hello Wood says that the home can receive different surface treatments including stone and aluminum

view of the exterior

detailed view of the front

view of the kitchen and dining area

view of the bed and the bathroom

panoramic view of the interiors

sink and shower area

the geometric window allows the owners to see the outside from inside

there’s an integrated sauna room within the structure

the low-poly design language allows for angular, faceted surfaces

project info:

name: PEBL Grand

company: Hello Wood | @hellowood

photography: György Palkó, Márton Bognár | @gyorgypalko

The post hello wood crafts PEBL grand, a rotatable and modular timber-made cabin with mirror facade appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Among the eight Signature Pavilions at Expo 2025 Osaka, null² by Tokyo- and Taipei-based practice NOIZ presents a speculative model for how architecture might function as both interface and environment. Produced in collaboration with media artist and researcher Yoichi Ochiai, the reflective pavilion is conceived as an ‘interspace,’ occupying the conceptual territory between physical and digital, static and mutable, real and meta.

The project comprises voxel-like modules — cubic units measuring 2, 4, or 8 meters in size — assembled to house a sequence of exhibition, support, and rest spaces. Warped or geometric, these volumes are framed in steel and wrapped in a newly developed mirrored membrane, that is tensile, and responsive to environmental forces such as wind, causing the surface to move and shimmer in rhythm with its surroundings. As it visually dissolves the building into its context, this membrane plays a key role in shaping the structure’s presence as a mutable, breathing system.

all images by Daici Ano

noiz wraps the structure in a reflective membrane

The entire system of null² is designed for speed, flexibility, and reuse. Developed by NOIZ in response to a tight timeline and uncertain post-Expo future, the modular framework allows for rapid deployment, disassembly, and potential relocation. The membrane itself offers solar reflectance and thermal insulation, suggesting possible applications beyond the pavilion, for instance, as a facade strategy for retrofitting existing buildings.

Inside, the exhibition experience centers on visitor interaction with digital twins — avatars generated to mirror the user’s presence. Within certain voxels, robotic arms and embedded woofers manipulate the membranes through vibration and movement, producing a tactile, responsive environment. These dynamic interactions are intended to blur the boundary between inert material and reactive interface, framing the building as a kind of living system.

null² is among the eight Signature Pavilions at Expo 2025 Osaka

the signature pavilion extends into the digital realm

Beyond its physical footprint, null² extends into the digital realm through a participatory platform that enables visitors to engage remotely using robotic avatars, or augment their on-site visit with AR overlays. The voxel-based structure then becomes a tool for user-generated content: visitors can digitally edit and reinterpret the pavilion, creating personalized spatial iterations. With this framework, NOIZ proposes a shift in architectural authorship away from a singular vision and toward collective expression.

Taken together, these elements position the signature pavilion as an architectural operating system. Its mirrored skin, modular structure, embedded robotics, and digital extensions coalesce into a responsive environment that questions the future of space-making in a time shaped by virtuality and networked interaction.

by Tokyo- and Taipei-based practice NOIZ with media artist and researcher Yoichi Ochiai

conceived as an ‘interspace,’ occupying the conceptual territory between physical and digital, real and meta

composed of voxel-like modules assembled to house a sequence of exhibition, support, and rest spaces

warped or geometric, the reflective volumes are framed in steel and wrapped in a mirrored membrane

the entire system of null² is designed for speed, flexibility, and reuse

the membrane is responsive to the environment, moving and shimmering in rhythm with its surroundings

inside, the exhibition experience centers on visitor interaction with digital twins

the voxel-based structure becomes a tool for user-generated content

project info:

name: null² 

architect: NOIZ | @noizarchitects

location: Osaka, Japan

event: Expo 2025 Osaka | @expo2025japan

dates: April 13th — October 13th, 2025

producer: Ochiai Yoichi

construction: Fujita & Daiwa Lease JV for Specified Construction Work

client: Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition (Public Interest Incorporated Association)

photographer: Daici Ano

The post NOIZ’s reflective, voxel-based pavilion blurs physical and digital at expo 2025 osaka appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.