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The best in Neon
Thursday, 16th May 2013 at 9:33am


London-based light artist Chris Bracey is currently displaying his works in his first solo exhibition at Scream Gallery in London titled 'I've looked up to heaven and been down to hell'.
The artist, who learnt his trade from his father, has manipulated his lights into incredible designs using themes which mix religious iconography, retro fairground bulbs and neon advertising styles.
Bracey has also provided dramatic installations for films such as Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the Batman films.
Many of Bracey’s works are self-produced neons, referencing popular culture – “Shine A Light in the Darkness of Your Soul” was written by Martin Gore from Depeche Mode and “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out” is from a song by The Smiths.
His work also draws upon iconic imagery such as tattoo designs and the sights of Las Vegas and Soho, London.
The exhibition is on display until the 1st June 2013.
LED flowers for film festival opening
Friday, 26th April 2013 at 9:29am

A new LED installation has been designed and fabricated by BWArchitects for the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival.
1,600 LED bulbs were made into pink and blue 'flowers', swaying in the wind at night on the courthouse steps in NYC.
The reusable flowers were made by hand over several days and mounted to painted wood boards held in place by sandbags. For the opening ceremony a field of the swaying LED 'flowers' was mounted to thin metal rods, once the lights were activated, the wind provided the movement at different rates due to the varied lengths of steel.
Justin Weiner of Studio Kenji created a short video of the installation which can be seen below.
Tribeca Film Festival Lighting Installation from Justin Weiner on Vimeo.
The Shed at the National Theatre
Tuesday, 9th April 2013 at 9:44am


A new temporary venue has been built on an unused plaza of the National Theatre in London. Called 'The Shed', the venue will show new productions that it deems "adventurous, ambitious and unexpected".
Open for a year from April, The Shed provides a new way to watch theatre, offering seats from £12 up to £20, with special days planned, including talks before or after shows.
Seats are either located at stage level or in a gallery providing patrons with an intimate view of the productions.
The building was designed and built by Haworth Tompkins, who are also incharge of the current redesign materplan for the artistic hub, and the design would seem to match the type of productiosn they plan to put on, with its vibrant colour and shape.
To find out more watch a video of lead architect Paddy Dillon talking about the design below.
haworth tompkins: the shed at the national theater, london from designboom on Vimeo.
Tagged National Theatre, The Shed, architecture, design, art, Haworth Tompkins, theatre, creative, pop-up, installationPuLSaTe pop-up installation
Thursday, 28th March 2013 at 9:02am


Architects Lily Jencks and Nathanael Dorent have been commissioned by Capitol Designer Studio to design a unique pop-up installation in London called PuLSaTe.Using Marazzi’s SistemN tiles, from a range stocked by Capitol, they fitted out a showroom in Primrose Hill to create PuLSaTe, a pop-up installation that will not only show off the uses and colours of the tiles but also provide a cultural hub.
The zig-zag design, along with sloped floors, plays with your perception. Benches built into the walls of the installation become a consumer experience like no other. The pop-up installation on Chalcot Road, opened on the 21st March and will remain open, running a variety events including workshops, until 27th October 2013.
Take a look at a video about the project below.
Tagged Lily Jencks, Nathanael Dorent, PuLSaTe, Capitol Designer Studio, Marazzi, SistemN, Pop-up, installation, architecture, design, tiles, interiors, creative
Christo's big air package
Tuesday, 26th March 2013 at 6:55pm



Big Air Package from Christo opened this month at the Gasometer Oberhausen, Germany. It is reported to be both the largest inflated frameless envelope and the most expansive indoor sculpture ever created.
The 90 meter high inflatable boasts a volume of 177,000 cubic meters and uses 20,350 square meters of semitransparent polyester fabric as well as 4,500 meters of rope. Despite lacking a skeleton the 5 ton form fills the interior of a former gas tank.
Christo describes the experience as 'virtually swimming in light' as a result of the vast expanses of fabric, lit from above via skylights in the Gasometer.
Filled with diffused natural daylight and muffled sounds it becomes a place of tranquility.
The project runs until 30th December 2013.
Photos: Wolfgang Volz © 2013 ChristoTagged Christo, big air package, gasometer oberhausen, Jeanne-Claude, art, design, sculpture, innovation, installation
What happens when 15,000 Volts travels through wood?
Wednesday, 13th March 2013 at 9:34am
New York City's Pratt Institute's sculpture student Melanie Hoff wanted to find out, so she connected cables carrying 15,000 volts of electricity to a large plank of wood and then documented the results.
Surprisingly the areas around each contact point don’t simply catch on fire or burn in a circle, but rather traverse outward in a fractal-like pattern called a "Lichtenberg figure", similar to what happens when lightening hits an object.
The amazing patterns created were captured in a video shown below.
Sonic fountain produces musical art
Saturday, 9th February 2013 at 11:01am


Ever felt that the sound of water dripping was slightly rhythmic and musical? If not, you may want to reconsider after seeing the new installation at the 303 gallery in New York by American artist Doug Aitken.
The piece, called Sonic Fountain, is part of the gallery's 100 Years exhibition and features five rods that drip water into a pool below. The dripping is not random; it is released at special intervals to create a variety of patterns and shapes, with the sound amplified by the location and the pool itself having been specially excavated out of the floor of the gallery.
The piece is quiet and tranquil with a milky white glow coming from the pool and a breath like rhythm from the water drops.
Watch a video of the exhibition below.
Spotted in Rotterdam
Thursday, 11th October 2012 at 7:21pm


Things have gone a bit dotty on the streets of Rotterdam.Dutch art studio Vollaerszwart has created a new installation called Let’s Stick Together, that has livened up the city streets with 50 000 fluorescent pink stickers as part of the De Wereld van Witte de With art festival.
See more here on Boredpanda.comTagged Rotterdam, Design, Spots, Dots, Installation, Fun, Creative, Studio
Ghost House installation
Sunday, 7th October 2012 at 4:49pm


French design practice Berdaguer + Péjus has completed the 'Gue(ho)st House' installation located at the Delve Contemporary Art Centre in Delme, France.
This intriguing structure has undergone several transformations over the years from a prison, to a school, to a funeral home and now into a large public installation. They have draped the building in a veil of white high-density polystyrene that appears to be dripping into the surrounding landscape.
See more images of this interesting installation on Design Boom by clicking here.
A musical swinging experience
Sunday, 23rd September 2012 at 4:19pm
An unintentional Montreal theme continues with this post looking at a new installation of 21 Swings that combined create beautiful music.
21 Swings offers a fresh look at the 'idea of cooperation and the notion that we can achieve more together than separately'. In essence it is a giant instrument that is made of 21 musical swings with each swing triggering different notes when in motion.
All the swings together compose a unique piece of music, but some sounds and notes can only emerge from cooperation and synced movement to reveal the installations true potential.
The project was created by Daily Tous Les Jours who are developing a travelling version of installation to take around the world.
See more of this great installation below and read more here at http://dailytouslesjours.com/
21 Balançoires (21 Swings) from Daily Tous Les Jours on Vimeo.
Tagged Installation, 21 Swings, Interactive, Music, Swings, Daily Tous Les Jours, Design, Montreal
Push-Up bus comes to London
Wednesday, 25th July 2012 at 5:16pm
He created The London Booster by attaching huge arms, suspension mechanics and adding groaning sound effects to the 1957 double decker bus.
The Czech artist commented that the piece could be seen as ironic because push-ups are "a common exercise for every sportsman" but also punishment.
It has been placed outside the Czech team headquarters in Islington, London for the duration of the games.
See it in action below:
Tagged Bus, Push-Ups, Olympics, London, Islington, Design, Installation, David Cerny, Czech
Kinetic rain installation stuns at Changi Airport
Sunday, 8th July 2012 at 8:19pm
A quite beautiful installation has come to Changi Airport, Singapore by Art+Com, a German media installation design practice.
This kinetic sculpture represents the rain and has great aesthetic appeal with 1,216 individual raindrops in bronze.
The piece gently undulates and then accelerates rapidly into a chaotic deluge. The summer downpour has never looked so good.
Take a look at the video below.
Letting Go in Minneapolis
Sunday, 8th July 2012 at 7:27pm

This large-scale installation called 'Letting Go' spans two floors at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.It was meticulously created over three months by Minneapolis-based graffiti artist Hottea from 14,000 individual strands of yarn at 32 ft long each, a total of 82 miles.
The piece celebrates Hottea's interpretation of the sun through the vivid fusion of orange, yellow and red colors in the work.
See more here on Design Boom.Tagged Design, Art, Installation, Hottea, Minneapolis, Institute
BE OPEN Sound Portal launched in Trafalgar Square
Sunday, 8th July 2012 at 7:17pm
As part of this September's Design Week the BE OPEN Sound Portal will appear in Trafalgar Square, London.
This is an entirely new kind of installation that focuses on the design that you can’t see – that of acoustics and sound – rather than visual spectacle.
The black, rubberised structure will be home to finely-tuned audio technologies aimed at delivering pure acoustic experiences to visitors. Every day the BE OPEN Sound Portal will host one of five leading musicians and sound artists, each of whom has been specially commissioned to create a unique soundscape.
The BE OPEN Foundation, a global initiative to foster creativity and innovation, and the London Design Festival are co-producing the project; the structure has been designed by Arup, world leaders in the area of acoustic engineering.
To find out more about this unique installation visit 'Design you Trust' or visit www.beopenfuture.com.
Giant Post-it note mural
Wednesday, 20th June 2012 at 9:00pm

In a bid to make the world's largest stop-motion video, Madrid artist, Eduardo Zamarro has created an installation made entirely with Post-it notes.
Over one million notes were used for the mural and 20 people were involved in creating this great installation.
Over 15 days they created 135 different designs with 27,000 notes on each mural. After the installation was removed, the notes were recycled as filler for bean bags.
Find out and see more on Design Boom and view the final video below.
A river of LED lights in Tokyo
Monday, 18th June 2012 at 8:36pm


Ever wondered what 100,000 solar-powered LED spheres floating down a river look like?
As part of the Tokyo Hotaru Festival, held in May, 100,000 blue glowing spheres were floated down the river, lighting it as they passed. It was designed to be reminiscent of a swarm of fireflies and to capture the way nature intended to brighten up our surroundings.
Front row tickets were a sell out and the spheres were eventually caught downstream in giant nets, ensuring no pollution.
What a sight.
Grass laid in York Minster cathedral
Tuesday, 12th June 2012 at 9:52pm


As a part of York Minster's Rose Dinner celebrations to raise money for the cathedral, the greenery installation branch Wow! Grass! of UK company Lindum covered the entire nave with a layer of real grass.
The grass is grown on rollable plant sheets made from a felt structure of recycled British textiles. A team of ten extended a layer of plastic upon the ground of the cathedral, then put in place the soil-less lawn, transforming the Gothic church's nave into a green expanse.
A beautiful installation in a beautiful catherdal. Don't envy who gets to cut the grass.
Find out more on Design Boom.
Solar tree installation at CDW
Monday, 4th June 2012 at 9:02am


Another impressive installation at this year's Clerkenwell Design Week was the 'Solar Tree', designed by Ross Lovegrove and manufactured by Artemide.The structure combined solar power with night LED lighting in London's St. John's Square during the week and provided visitors with a piece of urban furniture modelled on natural forms.
Comprising 20 'stems' which led to six leaf-like solar panels and four large LED lights, the installation functioned completely independently for up to three days and could feed energy back into the grid.
A great installation. Find out and see more on Design Boom.
images © Ashley Bingham (A&M photography)Tagged Solar, LED, Installation, Clerkenwell Design Week, Atremide, Ross Lovegrove, Lighting, Light, Design, Sculpture, Solar Tree
A rainbow of colour appears over Omaha
Monday, 7th May 2012 at 4:20pm

Michael Jones McKean’s “The Rainbow” Art Project creates rainbows over The Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in downtown Omaha.
In clear weather the rainbow will appear twice a day, for 20 minutes, and is created using sunlight, renewable energy and 100% captured rainwater.
The project was a decade in the making and represents a collaboration between irrigation and rainwater harvesting experts, Lindsay Corporation, structural and mechanical engineers, atmospheric scientists, Bemis Center and artist Michael Jones McKean.
Quite a beautiful project that will start in early June and run until 15th September.
See more about artist Michael Jones McKean here.
Architecture in fabric; installation by Do Ho Suh
Sunday, 15th April 2012 at 8:08am
Hovering like ghostly apparitions of architecture these fabric installations by Korean artist Do Ho Suh create new environments within his exhibition that uses silk and metal structures.
The artist’s architectural sculptures have been brought together for an exhibition called ‘Home Within Home‘ at the Leeum Samsung Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea.Previously on display at New York’s Lehmann Maupin Gallery, they explore the idea of home and the sense of cultural displacement that comes with immigrating to a new place.
See more of these beautiful structures here on Design Boom

