Home Sweet Home is an exhibition at MAD Brussels curated by Connie Hüsser that examines the concept of home through the typology of the birdhouse. The project brings together more than 75 birdhouse designs by Belgian and international designers, including Sabine Marcelis, Muller Van Severen, Max Lamb, Philippe Malouin, Shishi San, and others. Through this collective body of work, the exhibition positions the birdhouse as a design object that connects architecture, care, and coexistence across species.

In uncertain times, when the world seems to be faltering on many levels, the idea of home takes on a deeper and more poignant meaning. A home is more than a physical place; it is a refuge, a space of safety, identity, and care. But what does ‘home’ mean today? And for whom does it truly exist? Home Sweet Home starts from these fundamental questions and focuses on a small yet meaningful object: the birdhouse. What initially appears to be a modest functional item is transformed into a powerful symbol of coexistence, care, and empathy. ‘A small object like a bird’s nest can evoke an entire world,’ says Dieter Van Den Storm, Artistic Director of MAD Brussels. ‘It is both fragile and strong at the same time, just like the idea of home itself. After all, there really is no place like home.’

Linde Freya Tangelder | all images courtesy of MAD Brussels

Exploring Home: Birdhouses as Objects of Care and Coexistence

The exhibition is curated by Connie Hüsser, a Swiss interior stylist, journalist, exhibition maker, and curator. Throughout her career, she has developed a sharp eye and an intuitive feel for the unexpected. For more than twenty years, she has been creating distinctive scenographies: bold collages in which objects, materials, and colors come together, often anticipating emerging cultural trends. Since 2018, Hüsser has been traveling the world with Objects with Love, an exhibition project presenting a carefully curated selection of original designs by contemporary designers, with particular attention to a younger generation. In 2019, Connie Hüsser was awarded the Swiss Grand Prix Award for Design. In addition, she has been working with Vitra since 2004 and designed the colorful Leo smiley sponge series for the Danish design brand HAY.

Birdhouses make it possible for humans and birds to coexist. They not only allow us to observe and study the lives of our feathered companions up close, but also function as artificial refuges carefully created by human hands. Within this context, the concept of home takes on a broader meaning. Each birdhouse bears witness to human care and engagement, inviting reflection on migration, ecology, and shared habitats. With Home Sweet Home, Connie Hüsser encourages us to rethink what living truly means. Not only for ourselves, but also for the many other forms of life with whom we share this world.

Ferréol Babin

More than 75 Interpretations of the Birdhouse Typology

Belgian artist Linde Freya Tangelder on her creation: ‘With A Notch, I wanted to create a shelter in which the bird feels safe, without being cut off from its surroundings. The design sits somewhere between a pavilion, a wall cabinet, and a chair: a kind of outdoor house with an open view. Wood was an obvious choice. The carvings refer to my Sculpting Archetypes series, which consists of gouged and lacquered wood, shaped into sculptural, primitive archetypes, with carvings that reveal the natural tulipwood beneath.’

For Home Sweet Home, Hüsser invited more than 75 designers to rethink the birdhouse. Each design is a unique treasure in its own right: an object in which material, form, and color reflect the designer’s unique identity. Ranging from ceramic and metal to wood and textiles, some birdhouses appear delicate and precious, others robust or playful, functional or distinctly sculptural. Belgian designer Bram Vanderbeke created a birdhouse in cast aluminum, while Linde Freya Tangelder explored her signature architectural language using tulipwood. French designer Maya Eline Leroy embraced color through air-drying clay, gouache, and acrylic paint. British designer Bethan Laura Wood, Dutch designers Sabine Marcelisand Roosje van Donselaar, and Korean designer Kwangho Lee also conceived birdhouses in their recognizable styles. In total, more than 75 leading Belgian and international designers will usher in spring at MAD Brussels. 

Bram Vanderbeke

Audrey Large

James Shaw

Roosje van Donselaar

project info:

name: Home Sweet Home

curator: Connie Hüsser | @objectwithlove

venue: MAD Brussels | @mad.brussels
location: MAD Brussels, Nieuwe Graanmarkt 10, 1000 Brussels, Belgium

dates: March 11th – April 25th, 2026

participating designers: Adrianus Kundert (NL), Akiko Mori (JP), Anna Zimmermann (CH), Andrin Bührer (CH) & Marko Peric (CRO), Antrei Hartikainen (FI), Arthur Vandergucht (BE), Atelier Fig (NL), Audrey Large (FR), Aurélien Veyrat (FR), Bertjan Pot (NL), Bethan Laura Wood (UK), BNAG / Oliver-Selim Boualam & Lukas Marstaller (DE), Bram Vanderbeke (BE), Bregje Sliepenbeek (NL), Carsten in der Elst (DE), Céline Arnould (CH), Chris Kabel (NL), Christian Neuenschwander (CH), Clara von Zweigbergk (SE), Daniel Rybakken (NO), David Taylor (SCT), Derek Wilson (IRL), Diego Faivre (FR), Elakform (SE), Fabien Cappello (FR), Fango / Francisco Jaramillo (CO), Ferréol Babin (FR), Flora Mano Lechner (AT), Fredrik Paulsen (SE), Germans Ermičs (NL), Hanna Whitehead (ISL), ​ Hyunjee Jung (KR), James Shaw (UK), Jenna Kaës (FR), Jenny Nordberg (SE), Jochen Holz (DE), Joseph Dupré (UK), Julien Renault (FR) & Levi Dethier (BE), Juri Roemmel (CH), Kajsa Willner (SE), Kiki van Eijk (NL), Klemens Schillinger (AT), Kristine Five Melvær (NO), Kuo Duo (KR), Kwangho Lee (KR), Lex Pott (NL), Linde Freya Tangelder (BE), Lukas Wegwerth & Corinna Dehn (DE), Marco Campardo (IT), Mark Braun (DE), Martino Gamper (IT), Max Lamb (UK), Maya Eline Leroy (SE), Michela Castagnaro (IT), Miguel Lauber (CH), Muller Van Severen (BE), Noelani Rutz (CH), Nicolas Zanoni (FR), Odd Matter (NL), Olga Flór (BE), Ori Orisun Merhav (BE), Pablo Francisco Figueroa (CL), Pettersen & Hein (DK), Philippe Malouin (UK / CA), Rasmus Nossbring (SE), Roosje van Donselaar (NL), Sabine Marcelis (NL), Sam Baron (FR), Seongil Choi (KR), Shigeki Fujishiro (JP), Silvio Rebholz (DE), Simon Klenell (SE), Soft Baroque (UK), Stephen Burks Man Made (US), Shishi San (BE), TAF (SE), Vormen (BE), Waltter Mahlberg (FI), Wang & Söderström (SE)

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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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The Beach Temporary Theater is an 18-day outdoor installation designed by Re-Enchantment Design for Midsummer 2025, an annual cultural event that combines film, music, folk traditions, and contemporary art. Commissioned by KwanTeo, the project was developed as a temporary coastal space capable of accommodating multiple programs, including a theater, stage, exhibition area, and public garden.

The site is located along the coast of the Chaoshan region in Guangdong Province, China, an area characterized by distinct local customs, languages, and social practices. Since 2015, the surrounding area has undergone rapid transformation from farmland and villages into a resort-oriented development. Despite this shift, local villagers continue to access and use the beach daily, resulting in a shared environment occupied by residents, workers, and visitors. This condition informed the project’s aim to operate as a flexible public space that supports varied forms of use.

During preliminary field research, the design team identified a long-standing local construction method based on temporary bamboo sheds traditionally used for ceremonies such as weddings and funerals. These structures are lightweight, adaptable to coastal climate conditions, and designed for repeated assembly and reuse. Based on these findings, the project adopted bamboo as a primary material and invited local villagers with experience in this construction method to participate in the design and building process.

all images courtesy of ©Re-enchantment Design unless stated otherwise

Instant Squatter Hut Combines Vernacular and Industrial Design

Rather than replicating historical forms, the project by Re-Enchantment Design Studio extracts key spatial and structural characteristics of traditional squatter huts, including elevated stilted construction suited to land–water boundaries, open frameworks, and clustered settlement arrangements. These principles were reinterpreted through a hybrid system that combines industrial layer trusses with vernacular bamboo scaffolding. The steel truss system serves as the primary structural layer, providing stability under variable coastal weather conditions, including typhoons, while enabling rapid assembly, disassembly, and reconfiguration. The bamboo scaffolding was constructed collaboratively with local builders and integrated as a secondary, adaptable layer. The spatial layout is organized through modular program units, including an open-air cinema, performance stage, leisure areas, pop-up retail spaces, and workshop zones. These elements are arranged to form an interconnected and permeable environment that supports overlapping activities and informal social interaction. The resulting configuration functions as a temporary public living space rather than a single-purpose venue.

Material reuse was incorporated as a core design strategy from the outset. All bamboo elements were planned for disassembly and collection after the event, allowing them to be reused by local builders for future constructions. By adopting the construction logic of temporary settlements, the project proposes a cyclical approach to material use and a symbiotic relationship between design intervention, local knowledge, and environmental context.

Through its integration of vernacular construction techniques, modular contemporary systems, and collaborative building processes, The Beach Temporary Theater presents a temporary architecture that engages with local practices while accommodating contemporary cultural programming. The project positions temporary design as a means of connecting local communities, visitors, and evolving coastal landscapes through shared spatial and material frameworks.

Beach Temporary Theater designed by Re-Enchantment Design for Midsummer 2025

multi-program space combining theater, stage, exhibition, and garden

built within a shared beach environment used by locals and visitors

the project draws from traditional squatter hut construction principles

hybrid system combines steel trusses and bamboo scaffolding | image courtesy of ©KwanTeo

modular layout supports cinema, performance, and public activities | image courtesy of ©KwanTeo

elevated stilted structures respond to land-water conditions

steel trusses provide structural stability in coastal weather

bamboo scaffolding forms a flexible, secondary structural layer

all bamboo elements are designed for disassembly and reuse

project info:

name: The Beach Temporary Theater

architect: Re-enchantment Design (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd.
lead designers: Ji Jing & Zhenlin Wen

location: Chaoshan, Guangdong Province, China

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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From January 15 to 19, 2026, Maison&Objet Paris opens its January edition, inviting the design community to explore a landscape where innovation enters a direct dialogue with tradition. The event unveils its theme, ‘Past Reveals Future,’ spanning seven halls and six sectors with a curated experience through immersive spaces and exclusive scenography. Returning for its second season with a significantly expanded presence is the CURATIO installation, curated by German designer and interior architect Thomas Haarmann. Showcased at the heart of the Signature sector, this immersive installation has evolved from its 18-brand debut in 2025 to a vibrant showcase featuring 60 signed pieces, each carefully selected.

‘The first edition was an introduction of the new concept—a delicate conversation between space, object, and intention,’ explains Haarmann. ‘The second edition explores the art of reposition, maintaining the same atmosphere but expanding it into a larger, more immersive experience that feels even calmer and more contemplative.’

CURATIO installation by Thomas Haarmann returns to Maison&Objet in 2026 | all images © Piet-Albert Goethals, courtesy of Maison&Objet, unless stated otherwise

A MEETING POINT FOR CRAFTSMANSHIP AND CONTEMPORARY DESIGN

From limited-editions in the Signature sector to decoding upcoming trends in decor, hospitality, and retail in the ‘What’s New?’ showcases, Maison&Objet reinforces Paris as the global capital of design. Serving as a vital meeting point for fine craftsmanship and contemporary design for over thirty years, the event continues to cultivate an environment where transmission fuels new creation. This spirit is personified by Designer of the Year Harry Nuriev, founder of Crosby Studio, whose ‘Transformism’ manifesto echoes the broader theme by giving existing objects a second life. His immersive scenography, alongside curated showcases by Elizabeth Leriche, François Delclaux and Rudy Guénaire, set the stage for the fair’s most exclusive offering: the CURATIO village, exploring the art of rarity.

‘In a space defined by harmony rather than competition, rarity is revealed as an ethos, not a status,’ explains curator Thomas Haarmann. ‘Objects converse with one another, supporting and amplifying each other’s narratives, uncovering patterns of thought, aesthetic dialogues, and quiet contrasts.’ 

Royal Houses Exhibition by Harry Nuriev of Crosby Studio; M&O Designer of the Year 2026

EXPANDED CURATIO INSTALLATION FOR COLLECTIBLE DESIGN

The CURATIO installation is structured as a dual experience, blending a village of harmonized spaces with a minimalist exhibition gallery. According to Haarmann, this layout is essential for deep engagement. ‘The gallery space offers clarity and quiet — a canvas on which each piece can speak for itself, free from distraction,’ he states. ‘It invites slow, attentive looking, allowing visitors to trace the subtle gestures of material and craft. Here, design is not merely observed; it is felt.’

By favoring harmony over competition, the CURATIO environment allows rarity to be revealed as an ethos rather than a mere spectacle. Featured signatures for 2026 include solid oak furniture by Van Rossum, functional art by Zieta, and the suspended universes of Verter Turroni. ‘In this collective frame, visitors can perceive rarity as the product of intention, integrity, and devotion — the quiet power of design realized fully,’ Haarmann concludes.

Zieta – Whispers | image ©Alka Murat

Wooden sculpture by Presence Art & Design

Wooden sculpture by Presence Art & Design and Anvil Console by Van Rossum

404 Error Lamp by James Haywood Atelier

Anvil Console by Van Rossum

Maison&Objet’s Signature sector in January 2025 | image © Anne-Emmanuelle Thion

Maison&Objet 2026 – What’s New in Decor by Elizabeth Leriche

Maison&Objet 2026 – What’s New in Retail by François Delclaux

Maison&Objet 2026 – What’s New in Hospitality by Rudy Guénaire

project info: 

name: Curatio
curator: Thomas Haarmann

event: Maison&Objet | @maisonetobjet

location: Paris, France

dates: January 15-19, 2026

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The House on Utopia Parkway: Joseph Cornell’s Studio Re-Created by Wes Anderson transforms Gagosian Paris into a reconstruction of the artist’s Queens basement workspace. Conceived by curator Jasper Sharp in collaboration with the American filmmaker, the exhibition, which runs until March 14th, 2026, marks Cornell’s first solo presentation in Paris in more than forty years, translating his private world of boxes, fragments, and found materials into a life-size environment that sits somewhere between installation, archive, and cinematic set.

Rather than presenting Cornell’s work through a conventional gallery display, the exhibition begins with the space itself. Anderson, working with several longtime collaborators and exhibition designer Cécile Degos, reimagines the modest studio Cornell maintained in his family home on Utopia Parkway, Queens. Shelves of whitewashed boxes, tins, and drawers are filled with more than three hundred objects drawn from the artist’s own collection, including prints, feathers, marbles, maps, toys, shells, and paper scraps, what Cornell once called his ‘spare parts department.’ 

all images courtesy of Gagosian Paris

COLLECTING, SORTING, AND IMAGINATION TAKE SPATIAL FORM

Joseph Cornell (1903–1972) is often described through negation, as he did not draw, paint, or sculpt and had no formal art education. Yet working almost entirely from this basement studio, and never traveling beyond the United States, he produced one of the most influential bodies of work of the twentieth century. Paris, in particular, occupied a central place in his imagination, accessed through postcards, guidebooks, and conversations with Marcel Duchamp. Dozens of his works reference French poets, architecture, and historical figures, forming a mental geography built from images rather than experience.

Within the reconstructed studio in Gagosian Paris, several of Cornell’s shadow boxes anchor the exhibition. Pharmacy (1943), modeled after an antique apothecary cabinet and once owned by Teeny and Marcel Duchamp, brings together glass bottles filled with paper cuttings, pigments, and found materials. Untitled (Pinturicchio Boy) (c. 1950), from the Medici series, layers reproductions of a Renaissance portrait behind amber-tinted glass alongside maps and wooden toys, while A Dressing Room for Gille (1939) references Watteau’s Pierrot, held just blocks away at the Louvre. Blériot II (c. 1956) looks to early aviation, honoring the French inventor who first crossed the English Channel by plane. Together, these works read less as isolated objects and more as nodes within a wider system of references, obsessions, and quiet rituals.

a reconstruction of the artist’s Queens basement workspace

THE HOUSE ON UTOPIA PARKWAY and the act of assembly

The House on Utopia Parkway also includes loans from the Joseph Cornell Study Center at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, among them unfinished boxes that expose the artist’s working method. These partial works disrupt the sense of preciousness often associated with Cornell, emphasizing instead trial, rearrangement, and contingency. Seen within the recreated studio, they underline how his practice relied as much on patient sorting and revisiting as on moments of poetic resolution.

Visible through the street-facing window of the gallery, the installation turns Gagosian’s storefront into a life-size Cornell box, softly lit from within. The display recalls the hours Cornell spent working late into the night, alone with his materials, while also echoing Anderson’s own interest in constructed worlds and carefully framed interiors.

Cornell’s first solo presentation in Paris in more than forty years

a life-size environment that sits somewhere between installation, archive, and cinematic set

the exhibition begins with the space itself

Joseph Cornell’s studio in the basement of his family home in Queens, New York, 1971 | image © Harry Roseman

Joseph Cornell Pharmacy, 1943 Glass-paned wood cabinet, marbled paper, mirror, glass shelves, and twenty glass bottles containing various paper cuttings (crêpe, tissue, printed engravings, and maps), colored sand, pigment, colored aluminum foil, feathers, paper butterfly wing, dried leaf, glass marble, fibers, driftwood, wood marbles, glass rods, beads, seashells, crystals, stone, wood shavings, sawdust, sulfate, copper, wire, fruit pits, paint, water, and cork, 15 ¼ × 12 × 3⅛ inches (38.7 x 30.5 × 7.9 cm) © 2025 The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation/Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: Dominique Uldry

Joseph Cornell A Dressing Room for Gille, 1939 Paint, printed paper, mirror, cork, cotton thread, textiles, ribbon tape, wire mesh, and glass-paned wood box construction, 15 × 8¾ × 6 % inches (38.1 × 22.2 × 16.8 cm) © 2025 The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation/Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: Owen Conway

Joseph Cornell Untitled (Medici Series, Pinturicchio Boy), c. 1950 Wood, glass, metal, printed paper, and ink in wood and printed paper box construction, 15 ¾ × 12 × 4 inches (40x cm) © 2025 The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation/Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: Owen Conway

Chambre Gothique Moutarde Dijon Pour Aloysius Bertrand ‘Sulphide’, 1950

Joseph Cornell, Flemish Princess, c. 1950, Wood, printed paper, wood balls, cork, and tinted glass-paned wood box construction, 17 3/8 x 10 1/4 x 2 5/8 inches (44.1 x 26 x 6.7 cm), © 2025 The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation/Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, Courtesy Michael Rosenfeld Gallery and Gagosian

drawers are filled with more than three hundred objects drawn from the artist’s own collection

Joseph Cornell (1903–1972) is often described through negation

conceived by curator Jasper Sharp in collaboration with Wes Anderson

project info:

name: The House on Utopia Parkway: Joseph Cornell’s Studio Re-Created by Wes Anderson

location: Gagosian Paris | @gagosian, 9 rue de Castiglione, Paris

dates: December 16th, 2025 – March 14th, 2026

designer: Wes Anderson

artist: Joseph Cornell

curator: Jasper Sharp

exhibition design: Cécile Degos

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Black Void presents its first solo exhibition, The Sky, Oscillating, at the historic Bund·City Hall as part of the 24th China Shanghai International Arts Festival. The interdisciplinary collective, founded and directed by Yixuan Cai, with partner Yuhan Xiao and core member Yun Hong, brings together practitioners from digital media, architecture, data science, and music. The exhibition gathers more than ten works developed across three years of research, using light, atmospheric data, and spatial installation to examine the relationship between natural systems and human-made infrastructures.

Set within the century-old building in Shanghai, the exhibition uses the existing architecture as an active framework. Daylight passing through the hall’s arched windows gradually shifts the atmosphere from gold to orange to blue, creating a temporal backdrop for three chapters: Stellar Solar Impulse, Extraterrestrial Life, and Atmospheric Echo. Moving shadows and projected visual layers interact with the stone surfaces, linking historical materiality with the exhibition’s focus on environmental change. The curatorial approach centers on clouds, carbon, light, and electricity, elements treated not as effects but as carriers of information. The works trace how these natural forces are reshaped by industrial production, digital networks, global energy systems, and conflict. Solar radiation becomes electrical output through silicon wafers; human activity contributes aerosols, emissions, micro-particles, and electromagnetic signals to the atmosphere; and speculative biological agents on Mars highlight future intersections between ecology and technology.

The Burning Iris, installation close-up, 2025 | all images courtesy of Black Void

Black Void Visualizes Hidden Energies Behind Our Technologies

One newly debuted work by creative studio Black Void examines the ‘politics of heat and light’ through a system that combines photovoltaic data, information-infrastructure records, and solar-activity measurements. Using ecological, energy, and computational data from Phoenix, Arizona (2014–2024), the installation presents a dual-ring structure: the inner ring responds to photovoltaic generation and data-center electricity consumption, while the outer ring visualizes sunspot activity and temperature. The system reflects the dependency of digital operations on environmental conditions, illustrating how solar power, heat waves, and sandstorms can affect energy supply and communication systems. Another work draws from glassblowing processes, likening the stress patterns within cooled glass to the distribution of heat and light in natural systems. Under optical devices, each piece refracts the tension generated between hot and cold states, suggesting parallels with cycles of energy dissipation in living organisms. A separate installation investigates Martian fungi through digital simulation, ecological modeling, and speculative archaeology. Using generative software, the team imagines fungal forms adapting to radiation, electromagnetic waves, and mineral substrates. The piece includes a digital growth system, 3D-printed sculptures, a Martian meteorite (Shergottite, provided by 4.5B Interstellar Lab), and a film set within an orange-red environment.

The Burning Iris, installation, 2025

Rendering Global Climate Shifts in Color, Motion, and Mist

The exhibition concludes with a chapter that shifts attention from outer space back to Earth’s atmosphere. Based on Copernicus satellite data, the work analyzes atmospheric changes during events such as the Amazon wildfires, the Russia-Ukraine war, and Los Angeles smog episodes. Using ten years of data from 300 global cities, including greenhouse-gas concentrations, aerosol levels, humidity, and geolocation, the design team generates digital cloud sculptures that translate atmospheric conditions into form, color, and motion. This final section also includes a multimedia theater piece combining indoor cloud-generation techniques, microclimate control, and audiovisual components. Thermal sensors and controlled airflow operate as spatial tools, producing clouds that accumulate and disperse in response to environmental parameters.

Throughout the exhibition, Black Void positions natural elements as information systems. Clouds register environmental change through condensation cycles; sunlight interacts with technological infrastructure via photovoltaic surfaces; and computational processes release heat back into the environment. By examining these exchanges, the collective highlights the interdependence between natural instability and technological regulation. Black Void’s research extends beyond the exhibition venue, involving fieldwork at solar-thermal facilities in Delingha (Qinghai), the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station, and Shenzhen’s mangrove reserves, as well as collaborations with meteorological institutions, photovoltaic networks, and meteorite laboratories. This cross-disciplinary approach forms the foundation of The Sky, Oscillating, positioning the exhibition at the intersection of environmental data, spatial installation, and material research.

The Burning Iris, installation, close-up, 2025

‘Phoenix, Flowing into the Mouth of Computation’ Solarcene series, data-driven generative video installation, 2025

‘Phoenix, Flowing into the Mouth of Computation’ Solarcene series, data-driven generative video installation, 2025

‘Phoenix, Flowing into the Mouth of Computation’ Solarcene series, data-driven generative video still, 2025

Biosphere 3, Installation, The Sky, Oscillating exhibition, 2025

Biosphere 3, film, The Sky, Oscillating exhibition, 2025

Twin Cloud-London, Digital Art, Black Void, 2024

The Sky, Oscillating exhibition, Clouds Memoir, Video Poem Still, Black Void

Twin Cloud, Video Still, Black Void, 2022-2025

The Sky, Oscillating exhibition, Clouds Memoir, Video Poem Still, Black Void

Clouds Memoir, Video Poem Still, Black Void

project info:

name: The Sky, Oscillating / Solo Exhibition

artist: Black Void | @bv_blackvoid

event: The 24th China Shanghai International Arts Festival

venue: Bund Former City Hall, 223 Hankou Road, Shanghai, China

dates: October 31st – November 23rd, 2025

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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At Il Bottaccio, the Relais & Châteaux located between the Apuan Alps and the Versilian coast, the work of Italian painter Sossio forms an exhibition integrated throughout the property, turning the hotel into a cohesive and continuous artistic environment. The collection sits effortlessly amid the property’s historical architecture. Each suite becomes a micro-installation in which contemporary chromatic fields converse with eighteenth-century stone, antique wood, and filtered Tuscan daylight. The project places the Sossio Art Collection across corridors, salons, private suites, and transitional spaces, creating a steady visual presence that accompanies guests through the building’s stone architecture and historic interiors.

Sossio’s career began in Naples between 1968 and 1972 during a formative period for Italian art, shaped by direct contact with figures of the New Neapolitan School such as Domenico Spinosa, Armando De Stefano, and Gianni Pisani. Their influence established the foundations of his gestural and material approach, later expanded through his collaboration with Elio D’Anna and the philosophical framework of the ‘Creative Universe,’ which shifted his practice toward introspection and metaphysical themes.

all images courtesy of Sossio and Il Bottaccio

Il Bottaccio Becomes Immersive Setting for Sossio’s Evolving Art

At Il Bottaccio, the Italian painter’s artistic evolution is conveyed through a placement strategy that treats the entire property as a continuous setting. Contemporary surfaces, gestures, and color fields interact with eighteenth-century stone, antique wood, and natural Tuscan light, producing a consistent dialogue. Suites function as small installations where the works integrate into the existing atmosphere, allowing guests to experience the art as part of their surroundings. The exhibition reflects Tuscany’s long-standing relationship with heritage and experimentation, presenting an environment where hospitality and artistic practice coexist. Visitors engage with the works as temporary inhabitants of a space shaped by the interaction between architecture, landscape, and Sossio’s painting.

Sossio’s paintings are integrated throughout the interiors of Il Bottaccio

the hotel becomes a continuous exhibition space for the Sossio Art Collection

works appear across corridors, salons, suites, and transitional areas

art accompanies guests through stone architecture and historic rooms

the exhibition creates a unified visual presence throughout the property

at Il Bottaccio, the exhibition reflects the evolution of the artist’s material and thematic focus

contemporary gestures meet eighteenth-century stone and antique wood

natural Tuscan light becomes part of the visual dialogue with the artworks

suites function as intimate installations where paintings merge with the setting

each room presents a different intersection of architecture and artistic expression

color fields and textures interact with the building’s layered materiality

the exhibition places heritage and contemporary experimentation in conversation

the project highlights the coexistence of hospitality and artistic practice

project info:

name: Sossio x Il Bottaccio
designer: Sossio | @sossio.art

hotel: Il Bottaccio | @ilbottaccio

location: Tuscany, Italy

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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Unspoken Codes, presented by Common Names at Art Share L.A. (October 18–31, 2025), explores how shared expression can form a language beyond words. Featuring over 2,500 hand-painted hexagon tiles contributed by individuals around the world, alongside new works by ten international artists, the exhibition reflects on the invisible emotional and social codes that shape human connection. Through collective authorship and participatory design, the project invites viewers to move through a field of color, gesture, and memory, dissolving traditional boundaries between artist and audience. The result is both an evolving archive and a quiet conversation between strangers.

Founded in Los Angeles, Common Names began as a small community art initiative grounded in the idea that creativity should not depend on fluency, expertise, or visibility. Inspired by everyday acts of making, the platform has grown into a space for shared authorship across language, culture, and age. Unspoken Codes is the platform’s first major public exhibition, and embodies a belief that empathy can take shape through form, rhythm, and collective attention.

Open in LA, USA from 18-31 October, 2025, designboom hosts an exclusive Q+A with Unspoken Codes exhibition initiator and Common Names founder Cici Zhu to delve deeper into the curatorial vision and design philosophy behind the show.

Cici Zhu, Hexagon Drawing Collection (partial view from Unspoken Codes), 2025. Collaborative installation of over 2,500 hand-painted hexagons. Art Share L.A., Los Angeles, October 18 – 31, 2025 | all images courtesy of Common Names

Interview with CICI ZHU, COMMON NAMES FOUNDER

designboom (DB): Looking back at the journey of founding Common Names, what was the original spark for the idea, and what kinds of questions were you exploring in the beginning?

Cici Zhu (CZ): The project was inspired by my experience of moving from Shanghai to Los Angeles. I arrived two years ago, and the transition came with language barriers and cultural adjustments that deeply challenged how I connected with people. I often questioned my ability to belong, or even to be understood, simply because I struggled to communicate through words.

But I started to realize that expression doesn’t rely on language alone. Communication can take many forms—visual, emotional, intuitive. Just because someone cannot speak fluently doesn’t mean they have nothing to say. That realization gave me confidence, and also made me wonder: What if we built a space where expression wasn’t measured by fluency or credentials, but simply by honesty?  That’s how Common Names began—a platform open to everyone, where creative expression is encouraged without filters or expectations. I wanted to create a place where people could meet through making, and feel recognized for what they express, not for how perfectly they say it.

installation view of Unspoken Codes, Art Share L.A., Los Angeles, October 18 – 31, 2025. Featuring works by participating artists | image © Yubo Dong

DB: In what ways has the act of curating shaped or changed how you think about art’s function and its interaction with an audience?

CZ: I’ve been practicing art since I was very young, and over time it became a personal language, something I turned to when words didn’t quite work. But curating requires a very different mindset. It’s not about speaking—it’s about listening. It taught me to see how works relate to one another, how they speak side by side, and how the audience completes that conversation.

With the hexagon installation, I read each piece carefully—the colors, lines, textures, sometimes the written reflections. Then I thought about how to place them next to each other to bring out contrast, harmony, or a kind of silent rhythm. It felt less like assembling an artwork, and more like setting a stage for others to speak.

Curating also shifted my focus away from personal meaning and toward collective experience. I realized my role wasn’t to interpret the works, but to hold space for the audience to enter and discover their own relationships to them. That was new to me, and very powerful.

installation view of Unspoken Codes, Art Share L.A., Los Angeles, October 18 – 31, 2025 | image © Zihui Song

DB: When creating unconventional exhibition spaces for many people—from professional artists to community contributors—what kinds of connections or patterns have surprised you the most?

CZ: What surprised me most is how naturally people connect through art, even if they don’t call themselves artists. In this project, I worked with participants of all ages and backgrounds—many who had never painted before or never expected their work to be seen publicly. But when I laid their tiles side by side, I saw emotions and themes repeating across languages and geographies.

People who had never met expressed the same sense of longing, or drew from the same palette of memory and joy. You start to see that some emotions don’t need translation. That kind of unspoken connection really moved me. It reminded me that creativity doesn’t come from training—it comes from being human.

installation view of Unspoken Codes, Art Share L.A., Los Angeles, October 18 – 31, 2025 | image © Zihui Song

DB: Considering Common Names as a platform, how do you define and actively design for the idea of ‘community’ within your work, especially in terms of fostering shared experience and collective voice?

CZ: I don’t think of community as a group of people who all live in the same place or share the same background. For me, community is built when people express something honestly and feel recognized for it. That’s what I try to design for in Common Names—not a shared identity, but a shared act of showing up and speaking in your own way.

In the hexagon project, no one was told what to paint or how to contribute. There was no expected outcome, just an invitation. And from that openness, a kind of quiet chorus emerged. You could see pain, joy, memory, playfulness—all coexisting in one space. I think community lives in that coexistence, in the ability to hold multiple voices without needing to flatten them.

Bryan Cruz, Inner Demons, 2023 at Unspoken Codes, Art Share L.A., Los Angeles, October 18 – 31, 2025  | image ©

DB: How has working with people across different generations and backgrounds influenced the way you think about authorship and leadership?

CZ: Bringing together works from contributors across China, the U.S., Thailand, and many other places helped me realize that authorship doesn’t have to mean ownership. My role wasn’t to speak for others, but to shape a space where many voices could be seen and felt on their own terms.

This became especially clear in working with two very different groups. First, I want to acknowledge the ten invited artists, who generously joined this project and responded to its themes in personal, nuanced ways. Their practices brought depth and contrast to the exhibition, and I’m grateful for the trust they placed in this space.

I also want to highlight our collaboration with Saint Mark’s School, a K–6 elementary school that lost nearly its entire campus in the LA fire earlier this year. Despite that devastation, 170 students contributed hexagon paintings—some joyful, others abstract or introspective. Their works were arranged into the shape of their school’s lion emblem, and now form a mural that speaks to collective resilience, memory, and hope.

Working with both professional artists and young students reminded me why I started Common Names in the first place: to celebrate many forms of expression, across age and experience, and to build something that gives back to the communities who trust us with their stories.

installation view of Cici Zhu’s Hexagon Drawing Collection, dedicated to Saint Mark’s Primary School, at Unspoken Codes, Art Share L.A., Los Angeles, October 18 – 31, 2025

DB: How do you understand space in your practice, whether as a designer, curator, or artist?

CZ: I think of space as something that shapes how people feel, move, and relate. It’s not just a background for artwork—it’s part of the experience itself. In Unspoken Codes, we thought about space as a series of emotional states: exploration, gathering, and creation. The exhibition was designed like a journey, and each room asked the visitor to take on a different role—observer, listener, or maker.

We started with a narrow hallway filled with anonymous hexagon paintings. That space asked people to slow down and look closely. Then they entered an open gallery room for the invited artists, followed by a more intimate room curated around the work of students from Saint Mark’s School. Finally, they reached the participatory workshop room, where they could contribute a tile of their own. As people moved through the space, they moved through different modes of connection.

DB: A portion of the exhibition takes place in a hallway, a space that is often transitional. What led you to choose that setting, and what kind of attention were you hoping it would invite?

CZ: We wanted to challenge the idea that important art has to be placed in the center of a gallery, framed and spotlighted. Hallways are often passed through without much attention—but in this case, we wanted that space to hold presence and stillness. The hallway was lined with hundreds of anonymous hexagon paintings from participants. Because the space was narrow, visitors had to slow down and stay close. That physical intimacy created a different kind of viewing—quiet, careful, and reflective. It also reflected the values of Common Names: everyone deserves to be seen, no matter where they are placed.

installation view of the Cici Zhu’s Hexagon Drawing Collection in the corridor space, part of the Unspoken Codes at Art Share L.A., Los Angeles, October 18 – 31, 2025

DB: What were the key factors in choosing Art Share L.A., a community-centered venue, over a more conventional gallery space for Unspoken Codes, and how does this choice align with the exhibition’s core message?

CZ: Art Share L.A. felt like the right home for this project because it supports both the making and sharing of art. It’s not just a gallery—it’s a space where artists live, work, and connect with their communities. That felt aligned with what Common Names stands for.

We weren’t looking for a polished white-cube space. We wanted a venue that reflected the raw, ongoing, participatory nature of the project. Art Share also offered us flexibility and trust, which made it possible to build something that wasn’t just a display, but an environment where people could contribute and belong.

visitors view Cici Zhu’s Hexagon Drawing Collection from below, part of Unspoken Codes at Art Share L.A., Los Angeles, October 18–31, 2025

DB: The hexagon tile is a central motif. How has this design element been used to act as a “visual system of communication” for visitors?

CZ: The hexagon shape became the foundation of this project, both visually and conceptually. In nature, hexagons connect seamlessly and grow outward—like in beehives or crystal formations. They’re stable, expandable, and modular, which made them the perfect form for holding many different voices together without hierarchy.

In the exhibition, each hexagon tile is hand-painted by a different contributor, but when placed side by side, they form a field of expression that feels collective rather than fragmented. There’s no single center. Instead, the meaning builds through repetition, placement, and proximity.

We also extended the hexagon idea into our graphic design. The poster and invitation feature a layered hexagon built from fragments of all ten invited artists’ works. It becomes a kind of echo—an expanding visual that mirrors the way expression travels and grows when it’s shared. It suggests that communication doesn’t always start from the middle. Sometimes it moves outward, softly but powerfully, carrying many voices forward at once.

selected drawings from Cici Zhu’s Hexagon Drawing Collection, Unspoken Codes, Art Share L.A., Los Angeles, October 18 – 31, 2025

DB: What kind of experience do you hope visitors carry with them after engaging with the exhibition, and what design elements contribute to this intended experience?

CZ: I hope visitors leave with a feeling of connection—whether to a stranger’s gesture, a shared memory, or even to themselves. I hope the space encourages people to slow down and notice what they might usually overlook, and to recognize that quiet expression still carries weight.

We kept the design very human-scale. No dramatic installations, no hierarchy between works. The participatory room invites people to make something, not just look. That balance between seeing and doing, between reflection and participation, is at the heart of the experience we hoped to create.

DB: Reflecting on the entire Unspoken Codes project, what unexpected insights or challenges emerged in the process of bringing it to reality?

CZ: One of the biggest surprises was how much the project shaped itself. I had plans in the beginning—layouts, categories—but as I spent time with each contribution, I realized those systems weren’t necessary. The work spoke clearly on its own. I learned to trust the process, to let go of control, and to listen more than I directed. That shift in mindset—seeing curating as listening—was a challenge at first, but it became one of the most meaningful parts of the experience.

Cici Zhu at opening ceremony of Unspoken Codes, Art Share L.A., Los Angeles, October 18 – 31, 2025  | image © Zihui Song

DB: How do you envision the Common Names initiative, and specifically the insights gained from Unspoken Codes, informing your future design projects or community-based art initiatives?

CZ: Unspoken Codes helped me realize that community doesn’t always come from shared identity—it can come from shared expression. I’ve seen how people connect across distance and difference simply by making something honest and putting it into the world.

Going forward, I want to continue designing projects that create space for many voices, especially those that are often overlooked or undervalued. In Unspoken Codes, for example, I reached out to Saint Mark’s School, a school badly devastated by the Los Angeles fire, to gather canvases and expose them to the public to honor their perseverance and optimism following the rebuild. In the future, I hope to connect more with communities whose voices need to be heard and give back through the transformative power of art.

Common Names is still growing, and I see it as a long-term process of listening and building alongside others. As part of that, we will continue to support and contribute to the recovery of Saint Mark’s School—not just in gratitude for their participation, but because their presence in this project has reminded me that expression can be a way of healing, and care can take many forms.

selected drawings from Cici Zhu’s Hexagon Drawing Collection, Unspoken Codes, Art Share L.A., Los Angeles, October 18 – 31, 2025

project info:

name: Unspoken Codes

organization: Common Names | @common.names

exhibition initiator: Cici Zhu (founder Common Names)

location: ArtShare LA, USA | @artshare_la

dates: October 18-31, 2025

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Refik Anadol Studio presents DATALAND, the world’s first Museum of AI Arts, opening in spring 2026 at The Grand LA, a Frank Gehry-designed development in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. The project features art experiences blending human imagination and artificial intelligence, establishing a new model for artistic expression at the onset of the digital age.

The 2,320-square-meter institution is designed to feature five distinct galleries and serve as a hub for exploring the creative potential of data and generative systems. In anticipation of its opening, Refik Anadol Studio unveils a first look at Gallery C – Infinity Room, an evolved iteration of one of the studio’s most iconic installations. 

The museum marks a full-circle moment for Refik Anadol and Efsun Erkılıç, who founded Refik Anadol Studio in Los Angeles over a decade ago and have since exhibited their works in more than 80 cities on six continents.

all images courtesy Refik Anadol Studio

a groundbreaking proposal by Refik Anadol studio

Establishing DATALAND at The Grand LA, in the heart of Los Angeles’ cultural corridor, marks a symbolic homecoming for Refik Anadol, Efsun Erkılıç, and the studio. The business center is situated directly across the street from Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall, where, in 2018, the team presented one of their defining projects to date, the ambitious and groundbreaking WDCH Dreams, celebrating the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Centennial. Using 42 large-scale projectors, the nightly live performances featured machine dreams of the LA Phil’s 100 years of digitized memories, mapped directly onto the undulating stainless-steel exterior of the iconic building. The museum will unfold steps from renowned cultural institutions: The Broad, MOCA, The Music Center, Walt Disney Concert Hall, REDCAT, and The Colburn School in the cultural epicenter of Los Angeles.

Developed by Related Companies, The Grand LA is home to the award-winning 305 room Conrad Los Angeles luxury hotel, more than 436 residences including affordable housing and will feature a collection of chef-driven restaurants, shops, and art-driven experiences anchored by DATALAND. As the world’s first Museum of AI Arts,  its opening follows a series of presentations from Refik Anadol Studio, including Living Paintings at Jeffrey Deitch Gallery, in Los Angeles; Machine Hallucinations at The Sphere, in Las Vegas; Living Architecture: Casa Batlló at Antoni Gaudí’s famed building, in Barcelona, Spain; Living Archive: Nature at the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland; Echoes of the Earth at London’s Serpentine Galleries; and Living Arena at the Intuit Dome, in Inglewood, CA.

DATALAND by Refik Anadol Studio is designed in collaboration with architecture firm Gensler and global sustainable development consultancy Arup. Earlier in 2025, DATALAND introduced its founding digital collection, Biome Lumina, a series of 1,000 unique AI data sculptures that sold out in 34 minutes. The inaugural exhibitions at the museum will be expressed through the studio’s Large Nature Model, the world’s first open-source AI model trained exclusively on natural data.

a first glimpse at Gallery C – Infinity Room

INFINITY ROOM OFFERS FIRST GLIMPSE INTO the project

Originally conceived in 2014 at UCLA as Anadol’s first immersive data sculpture, Infinity Room envisioned a future for the Light and Space movement through the lens of media architecture. The work debuted physically in 2015 as a 3.66 × 3.66-meter mirrored cube animated by undulating black-and-white projections, transforming light into material and data into pigment.

Over the past decade, Infinity Room has traveled to 35 cities worldwide and been experienced by more than 10 million visitors. The new version at DATALAND incorporates AI-generated scents derived from the studio’s Large Nature Model and becomes the first immersive space to employ World Models, an advanced form of generative AI capable of understanding real-world physics and spatial dynamics. This multisensory environment offers a first glimpse into the perspective-altering experiences that will define the Museum of AI Arts.

Infinity Room has traveled to 35 cities worldwide and been experienced by more than 10 million visitors

ARTIST RESIDENCY WITH GOOGLE ARTS & CULTURE

Los Angeles has long held Anadol’s fascination, beginning when he was eight years old with the discovery of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, set in a futuristic reimagining of the city. He first ventured there in 2012 to attend a graduate program in Design Media Arts at the University of California Los Angeles, where he has taught for the last ten years. In 2014, Erkiliç joined Anadol in Los Angeles to establish Refik Anadol Studio permanently in the city. The Studio’s works have been exhibited worldwide in more than 70 cities on six continents and are beloved by millions of ardent fans. DATALAND brings this future-forward vision to a permanent home.

In alignment with DATALAND’s mission to expand public understanding of artificial intelligence and its creative applications, the museum announces the launch of its inaugural Artist Residency Program, in partnership with Google Arts & Culture.

Over six months, three selected artists will explore new frontiers of human–machine collaboration, supported by mentorship, funding, and technical resources. Their projects will culminate in a public showcase at DATALAND, featuring immersive installations, artist talks, and lectures examining AI’s evolving role in art and culture.

establishing a new model for artistic expression

DATALAND is set open in spring 2026

Refik Anadol and Efsun Erkılıç | image © Dustin Downing

The Grand LA | image © Weldon Brewster

project info:

name: DATALAND

location: The Grand LA, Dowtown Los Angeles | @thegrandla

artist: Refik Anadol Studio | @refikanadol

architects / collaborators: Arup, Gensler 

opening year: 2026

The post DATALAND by refik anadol to open in LA, spring 2026, as the world’s first museum of AI arts appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Lift House by Ulf Mejergren Architects (UMA) is a compact gabled timber house refuge mounted on a mobile scissor lift. Designed for the exhibition Beredd (Ready) at ArkDes – The Swedish Center for Architecture and Design – the project explores architecture’s capacity to adapt to changing environmental conditions.

The installation responds to increasing climate instability, including more frequent rainfall and flooding, by proposing a structure that can temporarily rise above the ground when necessary. The concept engages with research from Linköping University, which outlines three primary strategies for managing environmental risk: defend, attack, and retreat. Lift House suggests a fourth option, temporary retreat, introducing mobility and flexibility as means of resilience.

all images by Oskar Omne unless stated otherwise

Industrial mechanics meet vernacular form in UMA’s Lift House

Constructed from a repurposed scissor lift originally used by ArkDes, the project integrates themes of reuse and resource efficiency. The lift mechanism and supporting frame were retained and coated in traditional Swedish red paint, forming the base for a small timber structure. The upper house features wooden panel cladding, a gabled roof, and a simplified chimney fabricated from CNC-cut MDF. The combination of industrial mechanics and vernacular form establishes a dialogue between technical function and domestic familiarity.

Ulf Mejergren Architects (UMA) studio prioritizes material efficiency throughout the design process. With a lift capacity limited to 227 kilograms, each component, from structure to decorative details, was carefully calculated and adjusted to maintain balance and stability. Lace curtains and minimal interior elements evoke a sense of domesticity while emphasizing lightness and precision. Lift House operates as a functional prototype as well as a conceptual proposal. It reflects on the relationship between architecture, mobility, and environmental change, suggesting how small-scale, adaptable structures can offer temporary safety and autonomy in uncertain conditions.

Lift House by Ulf Mejergren Architects is a compact refuge mounted on a mobile scissor lift

the project was created for the exhibition Beredd (Ready) at ArkDes in Stockholm

the house can be elevated above ground level during extreme weather events

Lift House acts as a conversation piece during climate debates at ArkDes | image by Sima Korenivski

the concept introduces ‘temporary retreat’ as a new form of climate resilience | image by Sima Korenivski

the timber upper house features panel cladding, a gabled roof, and a simplified chimney | image by Sima Korenivski

lace curtains and minimal furnishings introduce a domestic quality

project info:

name: Lift House (Hisshus)

architects: Ulf Mejergren Architects (UMA) | @ulfmejergrenarchitects

curators: Kris Johnson-Jones, Olle Lundin, ArkDes

exhibition producer: Carl-Oskar Linné

production team: Hangmen Studio – Kelvin Douglas, Oscar Persson Lidgren

climate research: Sofie Storbjörk, Associate Professor at Linköping University

photographers: Oskar Omne | @oskaromne, Sima Korenivski

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