Mesmerizing sculptural instrument uses water for an otherworldly musical light show

There are plenty of art installations set up around the world, but the majority of them have a “look but don’t touch” policy. After all, “art” is expected to be mostly visual and the risk of damaging a precious, one-of-a-kind masterpiece is just too high. There are, however, other art forms that require your other senses to truly have a complete experience, sometimes involving not just touch but even hearing as well. This sculptural instrument, for example, invites people to dip their hands into glowing drums of water to create a hypnotic audiovisual experience intended to raise their consciousness to higher levels.

Designer: Artur Weber

Inner Waves look nothing like any musical instrument you can think of, except probably for a drum set with too many drums arranged in an almost random fashion around the largest circle in the middle. Like their namesake, though, these are actually small container drums that can hold liquid, in this case, water. Unlike your typical water drum, however, these cylinders have a faint glow on the outside that contrasts with the darkness they hold inside.

As captivating as these eerie glowing drums might be, they’re not designed just for your eyes. After all, you can’t even appreciate the water they hold in the darkness, and so you have to make that leap of faith and plunge your hand or even just a finger inside that darkness. This act rewards you with a brighter light and an ethereal sound that is reminiscent of the tones produced by a theremin. It is also similar to the sound you make when you dip your finger inside a glass of water and then run your fingertip around the mouth of the glass.

This alien sculptural instrument is advertised to link the water inside the viewer’s body with the water within the vessel, a statement that almost has a transcendental message to it. Technically speaking, it most likely uses the vibrations caused by ripples in order to trigger the mechanism that increases the light’s intensity and produces sound. Of course, your brain might not immediately make that connection, making you think that it is indeed your body’s agency that is creating this effect. Either way, the audiovisual art installation has the intended effect of putting your mind in a more meditative state, perhaps contemplating the deeper meaning behind this intersection of art and technology.

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This deconstructed windmill installation design highlights the power of wind

Wind turbines are currently in popular demand due to the growing necessity of green energy, but there’s a deep sense of calm involved in watching a much less advanced windmill for the land (turn forever, hand in hand). That’s the idea behind the W.I.P.: Windmill In Play installation by Taiyi Yu, a graduate student in industrial design at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, Netherlands.

Windmill In Play is a deconstructed windmill, meaning it takes the classic windmill design and simplifies it using everyday parts that make it easy to build and deploy. You can watch the process of constructing Taiyi Yu’s handmade DIY windmill design in the video linked below, meaning anyone with the time and energy can learn to build one of their own.

Designer: Taiyi Yu

As the windmill turns, it physically powers a series of mechanisms that shuffle sand from the base of the installation into a hopper that gradually displaces the collected sand in a unique shape as the wind moves the windmill around its 360-degree radius.

Most of the materials used in the Windmill In Play design are simple to work with – like wood, fabric, and piping – and it appears that they’re mostly recycled materials sourced directly from the trash. An especially impressive part of the design is the pink sail fabric, sourced and cut from old umbrellas as seen in the construction video.

Windmill In Play is not just a cool science project that creates a potential outlet for recycled materials. According to designer Taiyi Yu, it serves an artistic purpose as well, saying, “The project questions how winds have been harvested through windmills and reflects on how we perceive and appropriate winds.”

“The windmill, as a concrete example but also as a metaphor for modern industrialisation, is implicated in the dichotomy between humans and nature. It exemplifies the rationality of seeing the natural world as a resource, a power that reconstitutes experience through its mechanical structure.”

Even though the windmill itself isn’t designed to produce electricity, it could serve as a direct example of what’s possible with everyday materials – and hopefully, it could become a starting point for even more designers and creators who want to develop their own green energy solutions.

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This Kinetic Sculpture Provides an Elegant Metaphorical Reflection on Environmental Impact through Dots

Our contemporary lifestyles have undeniably left a negative mark on the environment. Despite the ongoing discussions and awareness campaigns, it seems that these efforts have failed to significantly influence the lifestyle choices of the masses. “The Dots,” an interactive installation by Jack Lee, serves as a metaphorical representation, showcasing the undeniable impact of human activities on the environment and its related issues. Through the fusion of kinetic art and technology, this captivating artwork offers a thought-provoking visual narrative that urges viewers to reflect upon their responsibility towards the environment.

Designer: JACK LEE

At the heart of “The Dots” installation are meticulously arranged polarised panels, cleverly designed to create mesmerizing visual effects through physical manipulation. By employing servo motors and sensors, the transparency of these panels dynamically adapts to the proximity of the viewer, revealing a captivating visual story. Jack Lee’s creation exemplifies the essence of his “Matters” project series, catalyzing contemplation and encouraging viewers to consider their impact on the environment.

Global environmental issues often appear too vast, abstract, and disconnected from individuals’ daily lives. While the public is generally aware of their existence, it is challenging to establish a personal connection with these issues. However, the power to shape the Earth’s environment, whether positively or negatively, lies within the hands of each individual.

The polarising film used in “The Dots” plays a pivotal role in creating its visual effects. This film is applied to both the surface of the panels and the viewer’s face shield, creating a unified polarised environment. Polarisation is a property of light that describes the direction in which its waves vibrate. The film is specially designed to filter and manipulate the polarisation of light passing through it.

As the panels rotate, the relative angle between the polarised film on the panels and the viewer’s face shield changes. This change in angle alters the transmission of light through the panels, affecting their transparency. When the polarization angles align, the panels become more transparent, allowing more light to pass through. Conversely, when the polarisation angles are misaligned, the panels appear darker and less transparent.

This dynamic interaction between the viewer’s perspective and the polarised panels creates captivating visual transformations, enhancing the immersive experience and reinforcing the connection between the viewer and the artwork.

The installation consists of seven precisely arranged circular panels, forming an intriguing hexagonal grid. Guided by servo motors controlled by an Arduino board integrated with an Ultrasonic distance sensor, each panel gracefully comes to life. The panels’ surfaces are coated with a delicate layer of polarised film, similar to the material used in a specially designed face shield that the audience wears.

As the panels elegantly rotate, a mesmerizing metamorphosis unfolds. The transparency of each panel dynamically shifts, influenced by the relative angle between the viewer’s glasses and the panels themselves. This captivating interplay between movement and perception creates a visual symphony, where the degree of rotation echoes the distance between the audience and the installation.

“The Dots” installation serves as a significant initiative toward environmental awareness, but there is room for further development. Currently, viewers require additional equipment like the viewer’s glasses to fully experience the installation. While this adds an extra effort that may deter some individuals, it is crucial to consider inclusivity and accessibility. Finding ways to make the experience more easily accessible can ensure a broader reach and engage even the “lazy” population who might otherwise prioritize ease over environmental concerns.

Looking into the future, “The Dots” holds immense potential for engaging and inspiring audiences in various settings. Beyond its current artistic context, the concept and technology employed in this work can be extended to broader applications.

In public spaces, such as museums or interactive exhibitions, “The Dots” can serve as an immersive experience that encourages public engagement and dialogue. By inviting viewers to reflect on their individual responsibility for the environment, the installation prompts discussions and actions toward a more sustainable future.

Moreover, the technology and techniques used in “The Dots” can inspire innovations in architectural design and urban planning. By integrating similar interactive elements into buildings and public spaces, it becomes possible to create dynamic environments that respond to human presence and encourage eco-friendly behaviors.

Overall, the future application of “The Dots” extends beyond its current art form, presenting opportunities for environmental education, public engagement, and sustainable design solutions. By harnessing the power of interactive technology art, this installation has the potential to contribute to a more conscious and environmentally responsible society. It reminds us that our individual actions, no matter how small, can make a difference in shaping a better future for our planet.

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This strange-looking plant box uses science to create eerie music

There are people who believe that music can be found in everything, mostly in a figurative sense. Harmony, a word that’s primarily associated with music, can also be found in visual forms. There are also feelings and expressions that can almost come off as musical, while the world is also filled with beats, rhythms, and tones that are like the planet’s natural orchestra. And then there are those seemingly fantastic claims of plants making music of their own. While it isn’t as magical as it might sound, no pun intended, there is indeed a way to hear the invisible sounds that plants make, as demonstrated by this odd box that looks like a prop from a 50s sci-fi show.

Designer: Love Hulten

Plantwave is a rather curious concept that sometimes starts debates among scientists, musicians, and everyone in between. The idea of plants making music might sound like magical mumbo jumbo, but the reality is far simpler and actually less romantic than it would otherwise imply. In a nutshell, it involves biofeedback or gathering biodata from plants, converting electrical signals into beeps, waves, and tones that are configured by a controller. In a plant’s case, it uses the changes in electrical current passing through a plant, which can vary depending on how much water there is inside during its photosynthesis process.

Of course, none of these scientific details are actually visible or even audible to people, and all they will hear and believe is the plant suddenly making noises almost equivalent to music, or at least a very crude form of it. The design of this plant box, however, gives off a science experiment vibe with its knobs and switches, creating an image that is closer to reality than some mystical explanation of the plantwave phenomenon.

The biolab-like Desert Songs utilizes cacti because they have sparse and sporadic activities going inside. Different cactus species exhibit different behaviors, so you can have a variety of signals even within the same plant box. The truly random biofeedback that the plants emit is translated into MIDI signals that are then fed to a Korg NTS-1 synthesizer and “reinterpreted” by a Macrocosm effects device from Hologram Electronics. Topping it off is a MIDI visualizer made to look like a microscopic view of a plant’s chloroplasts, the cells responsible for photosynthesis.

The end result is no less mystifying than if the plants did magically produce music. The eerie waves and beeps emanating from the machine give the sound an almost otherworldly melody, quite befitting of a process most of us know very little of. While it won’t beat even amateur musicians, this audiovisual installation still creates an attention-grabbing and memorable experience, one that will surely spark the imagination of what could be taking place in the plant microcosm.

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This furniture installation is inspired by industrial architecture

Bernd and Hilla Becher were German photographers (who first met as art students during the 50s) who were famed for their photographic documentation of the then-fading industrial architecture in Western Europe and North America. This phase of architecture was pretty important as industrial buildings at that time were slowly disappearing but were still a pretty interesting kind of architecture that was more functional than aesthetic. These “anonymous structures” were immortalized in the couple’s photographs.

Designer: Studio Mieke Meijer

A Dutch design studio has now created a furniture installation series that was inspired by those photographs from the Bechers. The Industrial Archaeology Series pays tribute to these photographs as the designs for the furniture and the way they were put together is based on these industrial structures that they documented. The first in the series is the Gravel Plant 01, an installation of shelves and spaces made of different geometric shapes and sizes. They are both functional and decorative and can also be modular and put together to create an entire furniture system.

The Industrial Landscape 01 is a staircase installation at a gallery that is inspired by the landscape of olden days in quarry terrains where these industrial installations were the dominant structures. The design shows off actual stairs and shelves and containers, again with different shapes and sizes put together. There are stairs, shelves, drawers, and other spaces to place your decorations and stuff, also showing off a modular system that is decorative and functional.

These installations are meant to restore these functional designs from the industrial structures this time enabling them for “studying, collecting, and storing”. The furniture are made from wood and steel, and seem to be stable enough to hold all your items and in the case of the staircase, actual people. Each piece in the installations are hand made and detailed “with outstanding attention to industrial details and skilled craftsmanship.”

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BIG unveils a ’50 Queens’ installation which celebrates the female pioneers in Danish history

Danish architecture studio BIG recently unveiled 50 pedestals without statues in Copenhagen, Denmark – a sculptural installation in honor of Queen Margrethe II’s 50th Jubilee. Named 50 Queens, the installation was designed by the youngest female partner at BIG, and is meant to draw attention to, and celebrate the “fearless women” of the country. The statues are laid out in an interesting gradient, with the tallest one at one end, and the shortest one at the other end.

Designer: Bjarke Ingels Group

“Our exhibition celebrates the untold stories of women who have made significant contributions to Danish history but haven’t yet been properly recognized,” said BIG partner Giulia Frittoli.”As more focus is brought to issues of social justice and equality, we are so proud and honored to contribute to the conversation and give a voice to those who haven’t been heard,” Frittoli continued.

Copenhagen currently has more statues of men, than women. There are 5 statues of women in proportion to almost 70 statues of men. Doesn’t sound too equal, does it? Frittoli thought the same, and hoped to balance out the situation with her installation which encircles an equestrian statue of Danish king Christian V within Copenhagen’s Kongens Nytorv. The installation consists of 49 white pedestals, with varying heights, each representing a woman who dominated and left her mark on Danish history.

A female-dominated jury comprising of a former politician, a visual artist, several history professors, and researchers, plus the director of the National Gallery of Denmark was assembled to select the 49 women. The 50th woman was not picked and has been left anonymous, to lead the public to pick and provide a name of their own, by scanning a QR code. Instead of wood, this pedestal is clad with mirrors, so “you can see yourself and you can see anyone”. All the pedestals hold a plaque with the name of the female pioneer, along with a QR code, allowing you to scan the code and read up more about the women, their lives, and their work.

“With 50 Queens, I hope we can raise awareness about the importance of gender equality and social diversity in our cities and public spaces to inform how we can improve our urban communities of today and plan for more equal cities of tomorrow,” added Frittoli.

Once the exhibition ends on 18th September, 10 pedestals will be moved to the Copenhagen Central Library or the Botanical Garden, while the others will be distributed in spots around the city, which are yet to be decided. BIG also teamed up with jewelry company Georg Jensen to create a necklace, that is meant to be a miniature version of the installation and gifted it to the queen.

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These hive-like terracotta structures offer a natural way to cool air down a bit

Whether you believe in global warming or not, it’s hard to deny that the past days have been setting records when it comes to abnormally hot temperatures. Some countries that normally don’t experience such hot and humid weather were caught unprepared, while others cranked up the air conditioning, which meant higher expenses and more carbon emissions. Though we now experience greater amounts of heat, the problem isn’t unique to our history. There was a time when humans didn’t even have electric fans to help them keep cool, and they used more natural and environment-friendly methods instead. There is some wisdom to those ancient ways, and one particular idea uses these methods to help cool the surrounding air while also looking like sculptural art at the same time.

Designer: ant.studio

Evaporative cooling has been around since the time of ancient Egyptians and Romans, who used water and clay to cool the air inside their houses. When water evaporates, it carries with it some of the surrounding heat, effectively reducing the temperature in the area. Egyptians fanned porous jars of water while Romans coursed water through walls. We can easily create similar cooling solutions these days, too, especially with a little help from modern technology.

There are two major components to this kind of cooling system. First is clay, which has hygroscopic properties that let it attract water more easily. Water is the other element, and it flows around clay cylinders in order to create an evaporating cooling cycle. That water doesn’t go to waste and is recycled and pumped to the top of the structure again. Given the qualities of terracotta material, this system is almost 100% sustainable, except for the electronics and fuel used to recycle and pump the water.

ant.studio also puts an artful twist to these evaporative coolers. Beehive binds the terracotta cones and cylinders into a circular form, creating the semblance of a section of a beehive. CoolAnt Coral, on the other hand, piles these pieces into a pillar akin to underwater corals or tall beehives. Though it could give some people shivers, the functional art installations have a distinct character to them, especially after you find out what they can do.

Sparkle 100%

Admittedly, evaporative cooling won’t work everywhere, and it comes with its own drawbacks. Evaporating water, for example, increases the humidity in the same area, which may not be ideal for some situations and for some people. There’s also a fair amount of electricity involved, so it’s not a complete win-win situation.

That said, both Beehive and CoolAnt Coral help provoke the mind to look for more sustainable solutions and fast. This heatwave might not be a simple fluke and could just be the start of something worse, and typical cooling solutions only contribute to the long-term problem while providing short-term comfort. These designs also prove that our ancestors might have been on to something with their clay pots and in-house aqueducts, and it’s up to us with our modern technologies to design something better.

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This bamboo pavilion is an interactive design that transforms a rural landscape into a social hub!

Bamboo Pavilion by LIN Architecture is a rural construction project in Chongming that transformed an empty grassy landscape into a dynamic interactive hub in hopes of promoting socialization between visitors and residents alike.

Every big city has its quiet, eclectic, rural counterpart. Brooklynites take short train rides upstate to Hudson, where they visit flea markets for handcrafted goods and knitwear. Then, Los Angelenos drive east to find their zen and a few grassy hikes in Ojai.

In Shanghai, tourists and local residents escape the city heat for Chongming, a low-lying island brimming with sweeping nature preserves and thriving forests. Settling on one of several rural spaces in Chongming, the team from LIN Architecture developed an architectural structure called Bamboo Pavilion designed as a social hub for the island’s residents and visitors.

Relying on one of the strongest construction materials available, Bamboo Pavilion was realized by the architects from LIN, along with designers and students from across the globe, reinstating the Pavilion’s main purpose of bringing people from all walks of life together to share a moment interacting with artfully architectural spaces.

During the day, the Bamboo Pavilion reflects sunlight off its naturally glazed coat. Then, come dark, the Bamboo Pavilion glimmers with golden light from the inside, out, implying a sort of lantern in the night that shines for and attracts tourists filled with wanderlust.

Much of what makes rural construction projects so intriguing for designers and guests comes with the transformation of ‘empty’ space into ‘active’ space. LIN’s Bamboo Pavilion in Chongming turns to free-flowing shapes and lively jungle gym-like architecture to morph the island’s grassland into a hub of social activity and curiosity.

Turning a rural lot’s available space into an interactive architectural pavilion allows visitors to understand familiar landscapes in exciting, new ways. As the designers behind LIN put it, “Interactions between family members or strangers are realized by the space enticing people to break boundaries. People spend their time resting, talking, and transiting around this installation.”

Designer: LIN Architecture

LIN’s architectural vision was realized with the help of designers and students from across the globe!

During the day, the Bamboo Pavilion creates changing light blocks and shadows for a reflective, dynamic display.

From above, the Bamboo Pavilion evokes curiosity and wonder. 

Children and tourists alike can enjoy interacting with this rural landscape in new ways while socializing with one another. 

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This 3D printed ceramic architectural sculpture looks like it is ethereally floating on a shallow pool!

Placed on a glistening shallow pool, at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin is a 3D printed sculpture called the ‘Prairie Cord’.

Designer Brian Peters embarked on an intense journey to explore 3D printed designs – from parts to whole. The result of his exploratory process was an exterior public art installation that seems like it floats on a serene water body while playing with light, shadow, and reflection during the day, as well as the night. The architectural sculpture mimics a lattice-like arc, which is artfully reflected on the surface of the pool, creating a mesmerizing full cylinder! Although it seems as if the sculpture is magically floating on the water body, it is in fact supported by a foundation of concrete blocks. Much like its name, the intricate infill pattern on the structure is inspired by the native prairie cord grasses. The creative pattern allows light to gently filter in and out of the installation.

Designer: Brian Peters





The installation was built from 80 individual ceramic blocks. Sixteen unique block designs were distributed amongst the collection of blocks, depending on where they were placed. This created an assemblage of blocks, accentuated by a variety of artistic and attractive patterns. There’s nothing boring about this temporary installation! Not to mention, all of the ceramic blocks are 3D printed! The blocks have been designed and fabricated by Peters himself, via a custom process that he has been working on for years. Once 3D printed in his studio in Pittsburgh, the blocks are refined and fired in a kiln!

The Prairie Cord is unlike any of the usual installations we come across. From the fabrication process to the final structure – there is something magical and unique in every part of this journey. The end result is a beautiful sculpture, that ethereally floats atop mirrored waters!

This portal will transport you anywhere in the world without Dr Strange’s ring!





The city of Lithuania created a ‘portal’ into another city 600 kilometres away.

We’re slowly turning the corner on the pandemic that has put our lives on pause over a year, but many places still have border restrictions that are keeping loved ones apart and making our travel itch worse. The city of Vilnius, Lithuania, is aiming at helping connect people across countries together by using technology. Meet the Portal, a Dr. Strange-ish window into another world!

Designed by engineers at the Creativity and Innovation Centre (LinkMenu fabrikas) at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, this ‘portal’ connects Lithuania to Poland and makes 600 kilometers look like something you can jump over. The massive circular installation works as a two-way video conferencing platform, offering a virtual portal into different locations. The portals both have large screens and cameras that broadcast live images between the two cities— a kind of digital bridge, according to its creators— meant to encourage people to “rethink the meaning of unity.”

“Humanity is facing many potentially deadly challenges; be it social polarization, climate change, or economic issues. However, if we look closely, it’s not a lack of brilliant scientists, activists, leaders, knowledge, or technology causing these challenges. It’s tribalism, a lack of empathy and a narrow perception of the world, which is often limited to our national borders,” says Benediktas Gylys, President of the Benediktas Gylys Foundation and who Go Vilnius credits as the “initiator” of the portal idea.

The Portal was 5 years in the making, and seeing it come alive as we reach the tail-end of the pandemic is the poetic launch any product designer would love for their work. “From design and 3D modeling to digital content development and logistic challenges – a project like this requires a broad and multifunctional team,” said Adas Meskenas, director of LinkMenu fabrikas. “Meaningful projects like this one are born when diverse people succeed in working together and achieving synchronicity.” It reminds us of the portals in Avengers Endgame that brought back all the superheroes for a final victory against Thanos (something we wish this Portal could conjure too!). Is it corny? Maybe a little, but at the end of the day, it’s an example of how technology makes the world smaller, closer, and more connected!

Designers: Engineers at the Creativity and Innovation Centre (LinkMenu fabrikas) at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University— aka Vilnius Tech.