Designed by Metal Goat in Tokyo, the Oogani table lamp explores an alternative approach to domestic lighting through form, material, and fabrication. Shaped as a folded crab, the lamp draws from origami principles without replicating traditional paper-folding aesthetics, resulting in an object that sits between functional lighting and sculptural design.

The lamp is part of Metal Goat’s ‘Capsule Animals’ series, a collection of furniture and lighting objects that reinterpret animal forms through folded geometries. Each piece in the series adopts a similar design logic, serving a different functional role while establishing a shared formal language across the collection.

all images courtesy of Metal Goat

Metal Goat folds thick synthetic paper to shape Oogani lamp

Oogani is constructed from thick synthetic folded paper made of polypropylene, a material selected for its paper-like behavior, durability, and ability to hold precise folds with minimal material use. The folded shell forms the main body of the lamp, enclosing a soft, diffused light suitable for use as a table or bedside lamp. Structural components are made from white acrylic sheets, while brass elements are introduced as both connectors and visual accents, most notably in the lamp’s eye-like details.

Through its materiality and folded construction, the Oogani table lamp by Metal Goat Studio reflects a contemporary interpretation of Japanese minimalism and origami-based fabrication. The object functions simultaneously as a lighting element and a sculptural presence within an interior, emphasizing form, tactility, and material efficiency rather than ornament or narrative.

project info:

name: Oogani table lamp

designer: Metal Goat | @metalgoatstudio

dimensions: 11cm (W), 32cm (L), 17cm (H)

materials: synthetic paper, acrylic, brass

weight: 320g

brightness: 400-600 lm

voltage: 5V, 1A

power drain: 5W

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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Desert X AlUla 2026 returns to northwest Saudi Arabia with a fourth edition that scatters contemporary art across within the valleys, canyons, and oases of AlUla. Presented by Arts AlUla in collaboration with Desert X, the exhibition runs from January 16th to February 28th, 2026 as part of the AlUla Arts Festival. It brings new site-responsive sculptural commissions into conversation with the scenic desert.

The curatorial theme, Space Without Measure, shapes an edition that attends closely to scale, distance, and perception across a vast landscape. Works are positioned across Wadi AlFann and the surrounding oasis zones, where shifts in light and wind are a part of the experience. Desert X AlUla 2026 approaches the site as an active participant, asking visitors to move slowly and read materials in relation to desert and sky.

Agnes Denes, The Living Pyramid, Desert X AlUla 2026, image courtesy Lance Gerber

site-responsive artworks scatter across the desert

Sustainable production methods inform Desert X AlUla 2026 at every level. Rammed earth, carved stone, and locally sourced wood appear across multiple projects, produced in Saudi Arabia through collaborations with regional artisans and cultural centers.

Partnerships with the locally-based arts and design center Madrasat Addeera and the AlUla Music Hub extend this emphasis on local knowledge, while consultation with the AlUla Native Plant Nursery guides the integration of plantlife into the ‘oasis’ environment.

The exhibition is co-curated by Wejdan Reda and Zoé Whitley, with artistic direction led by Neville Wakefield and Raneem Farsi. Their approach favors works that respond to specific conditions of AlUla, from ancient water routes to cultivated palm groves.

Bahraini-Danish, Desert X AlUla 2026, image courtesy Lance Gerber

eleven participating artists for 2026

Among the Saudi artists participating in Desert X AlUla 2026, Budapest-born artist Agnes Denes contributes The Living Pyramid, a planted structure situated within the oasis. Continuing a project developed across multiple geographies, the work emphasizes cycles of growth and regeneration through its changing surface. 

Sound plays a central role in several commissions. The collective practice Bahraini-Danish introduces Bloom, a kinetic sculpture animated by sunlight and shadow. Its rotating elements register the passage of time across the day, producing a shifting visual rhythm that aligns with the desert’s cycles. Participation remains gentle and open-ended, inviting viewers to linger rather than perform.

Basmah Felemban’s Murmur of Pebbles enlarges geological fragments into carved limestone forms. Installed along pathways shaped by ancient rivers, the work draws attention to sediment, erosion, and time embedded within stone. Originally commissioned for a previous edition, the installation returns with renewed emphasis on scale and spacing under the current curatorial framework.

Basmah Felemban, Desert X AlUla 2026, image courtesy Lance Gerber

In a nearby valley, Héctor Zamora’s Tar HyPar introduces percussion-inspired forms that respond to collective movement. Visitors activate the installation through sound, producing a low, resonant energy that travels across open ground.

Ibrahim El-Salahi’s Haraza Tree responds to acacia species found across the region, translating their resilience into sculptural forms that gather individually while standing as a unified artwork.

Mohammad Alfaraj contributes What was the Question Again?, a living installation centered on a palm structure assembled from grafted trunks. Referencing the agricultural landscapes of Al Ahsa, the piece reflects long-standing relationships between cultivation, storytelling, and renewal.

Héctor Zamora, Tar HyPar, Desert X AlUla 2026, image courtesy Lance Gerber

Sara Abdu presents A Kingdom Where No One Dies: Contours of Resonance, a sculptural installation formed through layered rammed earth walls. Poetry and geology intersect within its surfaces, drawing attention to construction techniques shared across cultures and eras. The work reads through touch and proximity, its mass tempered by subtle shifts in tone and texture.

Future Fables by Vibha Galhotra encloses fragments of demolished buildings within a steel framework. The structure shelters traces of recent change, transforming debris into a place for reflection and shared narratives.

Several works in Desert X AlUla 2026 engage directly with ecological systems. Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons shows Imole Red, an installation inspired by AlUla’s sunsets and Yoruba spiritual traditions. Color and planting combine within a garden-like structure that acknowledges water as a sustaining presence within the valley. The work carries a sense of continuity between land, ritual, and care.

Ibrahim El-Salahi, Desert X AlUla 2026, image courtesy Lance Gerber

Lebanese artist and composer Tarek Atoui presents The Water Song, continuing his research into listening practices initiated during the AlUla Arts Festival 2025. Instruments emerge partially from the ground, encouraging visitors to attune to subtle vibrations carried through soil and air. The landscape becomes an acoustic field shaped by movement and attention.

Nearby, rare sculptural works by the late Mohammed AlSaleem appear for the first time, including The Thorn and AlShuruf Unit. Created during the 1980s, these geometric forms extend upward with a measured sense of aspiration, shaped by desert horizons and celestial reference points.

Mohammad AlFaraj, Desert X AlUla 2026, image courtesy Lance Gerber

Sara Abdu, Desert X AlUla 2026, image courtesy Lance Gerber

Vibha Galhotra, Desert X AlUla 2026, image courtesy Lance Gerber

María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Desert X AlUla 2026, image courtesy Lance Gerber

Tarek Atoui, Desert X AlUla 2026, image courtesy Lance Gerber

works by Mohammed Al Saleem throughout the exhibition are on loan courtesy of Riyadh Art collection, The Royal Commission for Riyadh City

project info:

event: Desert X | @_desertx

location: AlUla, Saudi Arabia

on view: January 16th to February 28th, 2026

photography: © Lance Gerber | @lance.gerber

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Digital by Nature: The Art of Miguel Chevalier at Kunsthalle München presents the artist’s largest solo exhibition in Europe to date, curated by Franziska Stöhr. The exhibition surveys Miguel Chevalier’s practice from the early 1980s to the present, tracing his sustained engagement with digital technologies as both tools and subjects of artistic inquiry.

Born in 1959 in Mexico City and based in Paris, Chevalier has worked with computers as a creative medium for more than four decades. The exhibition brings together approximately 120 works that reflect the evolution of his approach, from early experiments with pixels, binary code, and algorithmic systems to recent projects that explore the intersections of digital and analog processes, technology and nature, and human interaction with computational environments.

The presentation includes a wide range of media and formats, such as 3D printed sculptures produced in ceramic and recycled plastic, robot-generated drawings, machine-produced embroidery and tapestries, and video works created using artificial intelligence. Large-scale generative and interactive installations form a central component of the exhibition. In these works, algorithmic systems continuously generate visual compositions that respond to visitors’ movements, establishing a reciprocal relationship between human presence and machine-driven processes. These installations are accompanied by sound compositions by Jacopo Baboni Schilingi, which further structure the spatial and sensory experience.

Complex Meshes | music: Jacopo Baboni Schilingi, software: Cyrille Henry, Antoine Villeret, image: Thomas Granovsky

visualizing Interaction, Growth, and Transformation

Two works were developed specifically for Kunsthalle München. Complex Meshes Robot Drawings is a performative installation in which a robot produces drawings based on visual motifs from Chevalier’s interactive series Complex Meshes. The artist defines the parameters by selecting the paper and drawing tools, while the robot executes the marks. Originally designed for industrial repetition, the robotic system is reprogrammed to produce variable, gesture-like drawings that foreground the translation between programmed movement and hand-drawn expression.

The second new work, In Vitro Pixel Flowers, expands Chevalier’s ongoing exploration of digital botanical systems. The installation presents his largest virtual herbarium to date, allowing visitors to generate plant forms through an online interface and observe their development within a greenhouse-like environment. The digitally generated plants emerge, evolve, and disappear in continuous cycles, forming a shared, participatory landscape that visualizes processes of growth, variation, and renewal.

Across its diverse works, Digital by Nature positions digital technology not only as a means of production but as a framework for examining systems, transformation, and interaction. The exhibition emphasizes Chevalier’s long-term investigation into how computational tools can shape visual form, spatial experience, and collective participation within contemporary art contexts.

Complex Meshes | music: Jacopo Baboni Schilingi, software: Cyrille Henry, Antoine Villeret, image: Thomas Granovsky

The Origin of the World | music: Jacopo Baboni Schilingi, software: Cyrille Henry, Antoine Villeret, image: Thomas Granovsky

Complex Meshes | music: Jacopo Baboni Schilingi, software: Cyrille Henry, Antoine Villeret, image: Thomas Granovsky

Meta-Nature AI | music: Jacopo Baboni Schilingi, software: Claude Micheli, image: Nicolas Gaudelet

The Origin of the World | music: Jacopo Baboni Schilingi, software: Cyrille Henry, Antoine Villeret, image: Thomas Granovsky

In Vitro Pixel Flowers | software: Samuel Twidale, image: Thomas Granovsky

Complex Meshes Robot Drawings | industrial robot, felt-tip pen, paper, software: Ludovic Mallegol

The Eye of the Machine | software: Claude Micheli, image: Thomas Granovsky

In Vitro Pixel Flowers | software: Samuel Twidale, website: Ollie Smith, interface: Elise Michel

Fractal Flowers | software: Cyrille Henry, image: Thomas Granovsky

Euphorbia Alchimica Veritas of Rousseau 1 > 12 | image: Thomas Granovsky

Brain Corals Stratigraphy | image: Thomas Granovsky

project info:

name: DIGITAL BY NATURE – The Art of Miguel Chevalier Kunsthalle München / Munich
artist: Miguel Chevalier | @miguel_chevalier

location: Munich, Germany

museum: Kunsthalle München / Munich | @kunsthallemuc

dates: September 12th, 2025 – March 1st, 2026

curator: Franziska Stöhr

curatorial assistant: Jasmin Gierling

music: Jacopo Baboni Schilingi

director: Roger Diederen

exhibition production: Voxels Productions

exhibition design: Martin Kinzlmaier

photographer/videographer: Thomas Granovsky

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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Dan Flavin: Grids is on view at David Zwirner Gallery in New York, bringing renewed focus to a body of work by Dan Flavin that engages space through light with confidence and openness.

The exhibition gathers several grid installations first developed in 1976, presented here through careful re-creations of historic works. Installed directly into corners, the luminous sculptures become a fixed part of the gallery as walls, ceilings, and floors receive light as an active condition. The atmosphere of each room shifts, all while remaining unified by the straightforward presence of the simple fluorescent fixtures.

Dan Flavin’s fluorescent light shapes corners as active architectural elements | image © designboom

re-created works illuminate david zwirner gallery

From Dan Flavin’s earliest experiments with fluorescent lamps in the early 1960s, light served as a practical tool for shaping space. Over time, this approach grew more assured, and the grids reflect that maturity. Their geometry feels steady and deliberate, while color introduces warmth and variation that responds to the proportions of each room.

As curator Michael Govan notes, the grids stand among the most concentrated works the artist produced. Each piece balances vertical lamps facing inward with horizontal lamps facing outward. Color travels across surfaces through reflection, a condition which softens the edges of the gallery and invites exploration between its rooms.

the Grids establish clear geometry and flood each room with a wash of color | image © designboom

colorful grids in dialogue with one another

The first of Dan Flavin’s grids on view, ‘untitled (for Mary Ann and Hal with fondest regards) 1 and 2’ (1976), offer a clear entry point. Each eight-foot square combines pink and green lamps arranged in opposing directions. Installed diagonally across from one another, the works establish an easy rhythm between corners, encouraging visitors to notice how light behaves differently as distance and angle shift.

Grids dedicated to Leo Castelli continue this dialogue. In ‘untitled (for you, Leo, in long respect and affection) 1 and 2’ from 1977, Flavin introduces yellow and blue alongside green and pink, allowing color interactions to feel more relaxed and expansive. Smaller four-foot versions, intended to be suspended across corners, suggest an architectural element that floats within the room, extending light into shared space.

Dan Flavin: Grids concludes with the re-creation of ‘untitled (in honor of Leo at the 30th anniversary of his gallery),’ first shown in 1987. Spanning twenty-four feet across a corner, the joined editions stretch the room laterally, offering a generous sense of scale.

corners become zones of exchange between inward and outward facing fixtures | image © designboom

walls, ceilings, and floors register light as a spatial condition rather than a surface effect | image © designboom

re-created works reflect how Grids were originally presented during Flavin’s lifetime | image © designboom

color interactions shift with distance, movement, and angle of view | image © designboom

scale varies from intimate eight-foot works to expansive multi section installations | image © designboom

the exhibition frames light as a practical tool for redefining interior space | image © designboom

project info:

name: Dan Flavin: Grids

artist: Dan Flavin 

gallery: David Zwirner Gallery

location: 537 West 20th Street, New York, NY

dates: January 15th — February 21st, 2026

photography: © designboom

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The Rijksmuseum is set to expand its public presence beyond its historic walls with the creation of a sculpture garden of international scope, scheduled to open in autumn 2026 in Amsterdam. Enabled by a €60 million donation from the Don Quixote Foundation, the project will introduce a freely accessible green cultural landscape in Amsterdam, bringing together modern and contemporary sculpture, landscape design, and architectural adaptation. The new outdoor complex, officially titled the Don Quixote Pavilion and Garden at the Rijksmuseum, will present works by artists including Alberto Giacometti, Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Calder, Jean Arp, Roni Horn, and Henry Moore, alongside a rotating program of temporary exhibitions.

Located just steps from the Rijksmuseum at the intersection of Boerenwetering, Ruysdaelkade, and Stadhouderskade, the garden will merge three existing pavilions and their surrounding plots with the Carel Willinkplantsoen into a single continuous site. Until now, the pavilions, built in the Amsterdam School style, have remained closed to the public. Their transformation into sculpture exhibition spaces will be led by Foster + Partners, while the landscape itself will be shaped by Belgian architect Piet Blanckaert. 

artist impression of the planned Rijksmuseum sculpture garden | image courtesy of Foster + Partners

a new public art landscape for amsterdam

The initiative marks a significant expansion of the Rijksmuseum’s engagement with 20th-century sculpture, both spatially and institutionally. According to museum director Taco Dibbits, ‘This is a donation of historic significance, and a historic moment for the Rijksmuseum. It will give modern sculpture the visibility it deserves. It also marks an unprecedented enhancement of the Rijksmuseum’s collection of 20th-century art.’ The Don Quixote Foundation will not only fund the development of the garden but will also place a substantial group of sculptures on long-term loan with the museum, reinforcing the curatorial depth of the project.

Beyond its artistic ambitions, the garden is also conceived as an ecological intervention within the city. Plans include the planting of twenty-two mature trees and the introduction of a wider range of native flowers and plant species, intended to support urban biodiversity. The space will be accessible free of charge during the day, with its main entrance opening onto Stadhouderskade. The final schedule for public access will be determined in consultation with local residents and municipal authorities. ‘This is a wonderful gift for everyone in Amsterdam. Local residents, city dwellers and art lovers will soon be enjoying the tranquil natural surroundings and artistic beauty,’ states Amsterdam’s mayor, Femke Halsema.

the Don Quixote Pavilion and Garden at the Rijksmuseum | image courtesy of Foster + Partners

Rijksmuseum Gardens |  image courtesy of the Rijksmuseum

Rijksmuseum Gardens |  image courtesy of the Rijksmuseum

Louise Bourgeois, Maman | image courtesy of Khao Yai Art Forest

Calder Gardens, 2025. Photo by Iwan Baan. Artwork by Alexander Calder © 2025 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

project info:

name: Don Quixote Pavilion and Garden at the Rijksmuseum

location: Amsterdam, Netherlands

institution: Rijksmuseum | @rijksmuseum

main donor: Don Quixote Foundation

total donation: €60 million

architect: Foster + Partners | @fosterandpartners

landscape design: Piet Blanckaert | @pietblanckaert

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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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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

The post dancing installation by vincent leroy mirrors movements of wind on zanzibar’s shoreline appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

The Living Series by Vincent Decat explores the intersection of functional design and forms that reference biological growth and movement. Across the collection, objects are conceived with morphologies that suggest organic behavior, positioning furniture and domestic elements as evolving presences rather than static utilities. Through this approach, the series examines durability not only through construction and materiality, but through long-term engagement fostered by form, tactility, and visual character.

The works draw from observations of living organisms, growth patterns, and slow transformation. Rather than literal representations, the pieces, a chair, a table, and a tray, abstract biological processes into sculptural furniture and objects that occupy a space between utility and narrative form. Each piece is handcrafted or carefully fabricated, emphasizing material experimentation and surface treatment.

One Thing Led To Another | all images courtesy of Vincent Decat

Living series: One Thing Led To Another, Came Uninvited, Stage One

One Thing Led To Another is a sculptural chair developed by Paris-based craft designer Vincent Decat through an exploration of the relationship between inert matter and organic expansion. Its form recalls a mineral landscape with irregular, rock-like contours in muted grey tones, interrupted by vivid orange elements that appear to spread across the surface. These contrasting components suggest a gradual process of colonization, referencing natural cycles of regeneration and coexistence between organic and inorganic systems. The chair’s asymmetrical and deliberately unstable geometry challenges conventional expectations of seating, positioning the object equally as furniture and sculptural artifact. The piece is constructed from a wood and metal framework reinforced with resin, then hand-finished with acrylic paint and sealed with a protective varnish.

Came Uninvited is a sculptural side table inspired by altered biological structures. Its form and coloration suggest a transformed organism, recognizable yet changed, evoking the idea of mutation and environmental influence. The object reflects on human impact on natural systems through abstraction rather than direct symbolism. The table was produced using 3D printing techniques, reinforced for structural durability, and finished by hand with acrylic paint and a protective varnish.

Stage One is a tray conceived as an object shaped by processes of emergence and development. Referencing embryonic forms, the piece adopts a compact, evolving geometry that suggests growth over time. Fabricated through 3D printing, it is available in two hand-finished variations: one with acrylic paint and another with aluminum leaf, each emphasizing different material and reflective qualities.

the Living Series explores functional objects shaped by references to biological growth and movement

the sculptural chair recalls a mineral landscape with irregular, rock-like contours

vivid orange elements appear to spread across the muted grey surface of the chair

wood, metal, and resin form the structural framework of One Thing Led To Another

Came Uninvited

the side table’s form suggests a recognizable organism transformed by environmental influence

the table was produced using 3D printing and reinforced for durability

bright purple hues spread across Came Uninvited table’s surfaces

the organic forms are finished by hand with acrylic paint and a protective varnish

Stage One

embryonic forms inform the compact and evolving geometry of the tray

the piece is available in hand-finished acrylic paint or aluminum leaf versions

fabricated through 3D printing, Stage One tray is shaped by processes of emergence and development

light blue and lilac acrylic paint brush over the organic tray

project info:

name: Living Series

designer: Vincent Decat | @_vinsdecat

One Thing Led To Another materials: Wood, Steel, Resin, Acrylic Paint, Varnish

One Thing Led To Another dimensions: 70 x 60 x 80 cm

Came Uninvited materials: PLA, Resin, Acrylic Paint, Varnish

Came Uninvited dimensions: 46 x 50 x 60 cm

Stage One materials: PLA, Aluminium – PLA, Acrylic Paint

Stage One dimensions: 19 x 17 x 8 cm

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

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

image by Nada Alkarra

Eden airy installation emerges from the Desert Context

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

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

image by Poh Sin Studio

Suspended system constructs a Temporary open canopy

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

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

image by Nada Alkarra

image by Poh Sin Studio

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

project info:

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

location: Abu Dhabi, UAE

photographer: Lancer Gerber, Nada Alkarra, Poh Sin Studio

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edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

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Athens-born artist and self-taught designer Harry Rigalo works at the edge between design and sculpture, where objects hover between furniture, relic, and offering. His practice approaches materials as active systems rather than tools. ‘I stopped seeing materials as isolated objects and started understanding them as parts of a system that activates space and the body,’ he tells designboom.  

This approach is currently reflected in Forms Without Briefs, Rigalo’s exhibition at The Great Design Disaster in Milan, on view until December 30th. In recent months, clay has become central to his practice. Raw, unstable, and time-bound, it collapses drawing and building into a single gesture, forcing the maker into constant dialogue with the material. ‘Clay never gives itself completely. You don’t decide. You negotiate,’ he says. The openness of the material, until the final, irreversible moment of firing, reinforces a way of working grounded in uncertainty, correction, and presence. designboom discusses with the designer his early years on Olympic-scale construction sites, his recent immersion in clay, and his commitment to process over outcome.

all images by Luigi Fiano, unless stated otherwise

from construction sites to process-led practice

Harry Rigalo’s relationship with making was formed early and physically. At fourteen, he began working on Olympic-scale construction sites in Athens, handling concrete and steel and learning through fatigue, repetition, and failure. That ‘unglamorous’ education instilled an instinctive understanding of weight, tension, and structure that continues to guide his work today. The knowledge never became a set of rules; instead, it remained something felt. ‘The result isn’t meant only to be explained, but to be felt,’ the artist notes.

His early practice was marked by structure and composition, drawing from collage and music, where materials operated like notes within a score. Over time, however, that score loosened and process began to outweigh outcome. ‘Process is a space where participation matters more than control,’ Rigalo explains during our conversation. 

Across his work, function remains present but unsettled. Some objects behave as chairs, vessels, or holders, while others resist typology altogether. Function, for Rigalo, can clarify but also constrain. ‘Function can make an object easier to read. Removing that obligation opens a different kind of relationship,’ he reflects. Read on for our full discussion with the Greek designer.

Harry Rigalo works at the edge between design and sculpture

interview with harry rigalo

Designboom (DB): You found your first training ground at olympic-scale construction sites at the age of fourteen. How do those physical lessons, weight, tension, fatigue, failure, still shape the way you design and build today?

Harry Rigalo (HR): I didn’t start from a desire to design objects. I started from a desire to step outside the world I already knew. At fourteen, through a family connection, I found myself on construction sites preparing for the 2004 Olympic Games, a strictly structured environment based on studies, drawings, and constructional precision. It was a large-scale undertaking where theory and practice coexisted, but without room for personal narrative or expression. I worked with concrete, steel, wood, plastic, and brick.

At the time, I didn’t know what this experience would become. It was physically demanding and eventually not something I wanted to pursue professionally, but it gave me a deeply embodied understanding of materials. I learned how weight is transferred and how it translates differently depending on function, how structures behave, how materials react, how they are worked, and how different elements are combined so that something individual becomes functional within a much larger system and scale.

Years later, when I began placing materials myself, that knowledge resurfaced almost instinctively, not as technical rules, but as a physical sense. I stopped seeing materials as isolated objects and started understanding them as parts of a system that activates space and the body. Even today, whether I’m making something functional or something that resists use, I still work through these questions. How weight moves, how a form stands, how material operates in relation to scale. The result isn’t meant only to be explained, but to be felt.

objects hover between furniture, relic, and offering

DB: You found your first training ground at olympic-scale construction sites at the age of fourteen. How do those physical lessons, weight, tension, fatigue, failure, still shape the way you design and build today?

HR: I don’t think we choose materials in a neutral way. There’s always a form of attraction involved, a desire to meet a material and allow it to respond. Clay entered my practice at a moment when I was looking for immediacy, for a way to move from thought to making without filters. In my earlier work, the process was more structured. I was composing different materials through a kind of material collage, and even then the objects were never meant to be entirely comfortable. They still answered to structure. I could say, this is a chair. But the chair itself carried a question. It asked whether a chair always needs to behave like a chair, or whether discomfort could be part of its meaning.

With clay, drawing and building collapse into the same action. What you imagine begins to exist almost immediately in your hands. That directness allows instinct and improvisation to lead rather than follow. Working at larger scales intensified this relationship. As the clay body grows, difficulty and risk increase, and the dialogue between body and material becomes sharper. Clay offers freedom, but it also has limits, and those limits are learned physically. The shift wasn’t a rejection of structure, but a desire to reduce mediation. I wanted to move from inspiration to realization more directly and to build an atmosphere rather than just an object.

Forms Without Briefs, Rigalo’s exhibition at The Great Design Disaster gallery

DB: You’ve been immersed in clay these past months. What did this material teach you that other materials never managed to?

HR: In many ways, clay became synonymous with the philosophy of this body of work. At first, I approached it as a tool. Very quickly, however, it revealed something else, the quiet nature of movement and becoming. Clay never gives itself completely. It’s always in transition. It carries a dual character, addition and subtraction, building and erasing, and through that, balance emerges through form, tension, and symbolism. You don’t decide. You negotiate.

What fascinated me most was its relationship to time. Until the very last moment before firing, everything remains open. A form can always return to something softer, more uncertain. Once it enters the kiln, that openness disappears. Clay becomes ceramic, a different material altogether, and a specific moment is fixed. In that sense, firing feels almost like a photograph. A single state is captured, removed from its previous flow, and carried forward. Not as an ending, but as a moment that continues to participate in movement from another position.

That relationship was intensely physical and compressed in time. My first encounter with clay, from early tests to the final exhibition, unfolded within seven to eight months of daily contact. Long hours, mistakes, repetitions. During that period, I worked through nearly 800 kilos of clay. Not as a way of mastering the material, but as a way of meeting it, while understanding how much I was still at the beginning. Those months were marked by silence and an almost ascetic rhythm. Days of repetition and concentration created a calm intensity that left a quiet afterimage. It was refreshing, and it set a tone. One I hope to return to in future work, finding that same quality of focus again.

Thili

DB: You’ve said the process matters more than the final result. What does process mean to you now?

HR: For me, a work always emerges from a process, and the process begins with desire. At its core, desire starts with attraction, the pull toward a body. Sometimes that participation becomes the act of making a body, an object, a form, a work. Process is how that impulse takes shape. It’s a space where participation matters more than control, and where intention is formed through engagement rather than imposed. What matters to me is not simply to be seen critically, but to be seen through the process itself.

Process reflects movement, flow, truth, and offering. I’m sensitive to the movement of the world around me, and my work is simply a way of taking part in that movement. Not stopping it, but standing within it. For me, flow is very close to truth. Nothing in flow is fixed, just as nothing in truth is fixed. Perhaps the greatest challenge is accepting a non fixed understanding of ourselves and allowing who we are to remain open and in motion.

Elksi

DB: While some of your works remain functional, others resist typology altogether. How do you decide when a piece should behave like furniture and when it should resist that expectation?

HR: When I work on a collection, I think of it as a scenographic condition, a spatial composition. Some pieces function as abstract forms within that landscape, while others act more like offerings. Furniture, and functionality in general, is already a form of offering, allowing a body to sit, rest, or engage. That sense of offering remains important to me. I still belong to the functional side of design, and it continues to inspire me. At the same time, I don’t feel the need to bind every object to use. For me, whatever is produced deserves space, whether it functions or simply exists.

This collection is also the first time I allowed myself to create purely non-functional works, pieces that exist solely through their sculptural presence. That came from another need, the desire not to always be understood. Function can make an object easier to read. Removing that obligation opens a different kind of relationship, one that asks less to be explained and more to be experienced.

Monk

DB: There’s a recurring description of a feminine energy in the forms, not gendered, but intuitive and insistent. Is that something you consciously guide, or something that simply happens when you work instinctively?

HR: It’s not something I consciously guide. It’s something I notice afterward. In my relationship with process, there’s always a quiet pull, a form of attraction that creates a relationship with the material and remains mostly silent.

What is often described as feminine energy, I experience more as a quality of presence. A softness that doesn’t weaken the form, but allows it to exist without imposing itself. A receptivity that holds space rather than demands attention.

I’m interested in creating forms and atmospheres that can be encountered rather than explained. Something you can stand in front of, or within, without being instructed how to feel. If there is femininity in that, it’s not symbolic. It’s experiential.

Aiwaitress

DB: Your work sits between object, relic, vessel, and offering. Do you feel closer to designers, sculptors, or neither, and why?

HR: I don’t feel a strong need to position myself strictly as one or the other. What matters to me more is existing within the act of making rather than within a definition. I’m deeply interested in the multiple sides of human expression, the structured and the abstract, the logical and the instinctive. Both continue to inspire me, and I feel active in both territories. Logic, for me, doesn’t cancel emotion. Sometimes it carries a purer one. And instinct, when observed carefully, has its own intelligence.

At the end of the day, everything is form. What feels essential is remaining open, playful, and free. I’m not interested in chasing trends. Movement exists around trends, not inside them. What I aim for instead is a language that carries motion while remaining grounded in classical foundations.

Isofagus

DB: What’s the next material, rhythm, or question calling you?

HR: My relationship with clay is definitely not finished. What’s emerging now is a new phase, one that respects the material’s qualities while opening it to new encounters. I’m interested in bringing other materials into dialogue with clay, not to overpower it, but to explore new relationships and a different kind of scenography. Working with clay has also pushed me strongly toward thinking about scale. Larger, more architectural forms feel increasingly important to me, and this interest in large scale work is something I know will continue to grow. Alongside this, I continue to design digitally, developing ideas and models that can evolve through collaborations within functional design, which remains an essential part of my practice.

I also know I will return to materials from earlier phases of my work. Marble, in particular, feels unfinished, ideas that were paused rather than completed. At the same time, I’m beginning to explore glazes and color in clay, opening it toward a more playful direction. This naturally connects to my interest in recycling, industrial elements, and even smaller scale objects, including jewelry.

Looking ahead, what matters most is continuity. Forms Without Briefs marked the beginning of a longer trajectory that will continue through my collaboration with The Great Design Disaster gallery. The trust and support of Joy Herro and Gregory Gatserelia encouraged me to move more freely toward non-functional and large-scale work, while keeping space open for functional design to evolve alongside it. The next step isn’t a single material or answer, but an expanded field where scale, materials, and collaborations continue to move together.

clay has become central to the artist’s practice

function remains present but unsettled | image by Antonis Agrido

clay collapses drawing and building into a single gesture | image by Antonis Agrido

some objects behave as chairs, vessels, or holders, while others resist typology altogether | image by Antonis Agrido

Harry Rigalo in his studio | image by Antonis Agrido

project info:

designer: Harry Rigalo | @harryrigalo

gallery: The Great Design Disaster | @thegreatdesigndisaster

location: Via della Moscova 15, Milan, Italy

dates: November 3rd – December 30th, 2025

The post harry rigalo discusses material, process, and presence between design and sculpture appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.