FLOW

Created in collaboration with CTHM Architects, for the Royal Institute of British Architects "RIBA Shanghai Windows 2015" project. For "Fountain" Xintiandi, Shanghai. Full team list below.
 
Set within the bustling lifestyle district of Shanghai's Xintandi our installation for the RIBA's "Shanghai Windows" this year is a dramatic public centre piece designed to re-connect the public space with its immediate surroundings. Receiving over 1million visitors each month, Xintiandi is a pedestrian thoroughfare lined with bars, restaurants, shops and cafe's that is both a destination and a distraction. 

The site is located at the heart of Xintaindi yet just off the beating pulse; at the rear of a courtyard where most passers by do just that, pass by. The aim was to re-energize this particular area of the courtyard and with it bring a renewed focus, enlivening the Fountain restaurant with a striking installation that would disrupt the usual thoroughfare and draw visitors to this part of the complex.

Delicate ethereal strands spill from the restaurants upper storey towards "Fountains" namesake set within the courtyard below. 3,000 metres of translucent cord refract and reflect light giving a shimmering impression of water cascading across the buildings face. This simple yet bold installation playfully changes appearance as caught light, both natural and artificial, refracts and reflects across and through it, creating a veil like curtain to an otherwise tired and dated facade.