Explore Storytelling Through 300 Years of Quilts in ‘Fabric of a Nation’

While we often associate quilts with their function as bedspreads or an enjoyable hobby, the roots of the craft run very deep. The art form has long been associated with storytelling, and numerous styles have enabled makers to share cultural symbols, memories, and autobiographical details through vibrant color and pattern.

African American quilters have significantly influenced the practice since the 17th century, when enslaved people began sewing scraps of fabric to make blankets for warmth. Through artists like Harriet Powers in the 19th century or the Gee’s Bend Quilters, this powerful mode of expression lives on in rich tapestries and textile works being made today.

A new exhibition titled Fabric of a Nation: American Quilt Stories from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston opens this week at the Frist Art Museum, surveying nearly 50 quilts from the MFA’s collection. Works span the 19th through 21st centuries, with bold textiles by contemporary artists like Bisa Butler included alongside Civil War-era examples and commemorative album quilts.

Stories play a starring role in Fabric of a Nation, which delves into the socio-political contexts in which the pieces were made and how narrative, symbolism, and autobiography shaped their compositions. For example, a unique Civil War quilt completed by an unknown maker in 1864 repurposes fabric from Zouave uniforms. Small panels featuring birds, soldiers on horseback, and the American flag transport us to a time when the U.S. had been at war for three years.

Another fascinating piece is another flag composition in which the stripes have been stitched with dozens of names, including Susan B. Anthony near the top of one of the central columns. Known as the “Hoosier Suffrage Quilt,” it’s thought to chronicle suffrage supporters.

More recently, Michael C. Thorpe’s untitled work features the bold appliquéd words “Black Man” over pieced batik fabrics. Butler’s large-scale “To God and Truth” is a colorful reimagining of an 1899 photograph. She transforms a black-and-white image into a vibrant, patterned portrait of the African American baseball team of Morris Brown College, Atlanta.

Fabric of a Nation opens on June 27 and continues through October 12 in Nashville. Find more and plan your visit on the museum’s website. You might also enjoy exploring more quilts by Black Southern makers or Stephen Townes’ embroidered tableaux of leisure in the Jim Crow South.

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Ireland’s Oldest and Largest Medieval Book Shrine Goes on Public View for the First Time

In an unassuming lake in Ireland’s northern County Longford, an unprecedented find emerged in 1986. Thanks to the sediments in the body of water, pieces of a unique, highly decorated metal object dating to the 9th century were remarkably preserved. And now, after a 39-year conservation project, the nation’s oldest and largest medieval book shrine is now on view.

Known as the Lough Kinale Book Shrine after its namesake lake, the object features a series of medallions with precious stone inserts, along with embellished metalwork in the form of a cross. Part of the exhibition Words on the Wave: Ireland and St. Gallen in Early Medieval Europe at the National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street, the stunning artifact is complemented by a number of pieces contemporary to its day.

The shrine’s metal is bronze and encompasses an oak container, which would have held a treasured manuscript associated with a Christian saint. Used to convey the volume to various ceremonial activities, it also would have originally featured a leather strap to make it easier to transport.

Words on the Wave also includes a Viking sword uncovered in the River Shannon in Limerick and a beautiful example of a medieval brooch-pin, the Ardshanbally Brooch, which dates to the 8th or 9th century.

Thanks to scientific analysis, manuscripts on loan from the Abbey Library in St. Gall, Switzerland, have also been confirmed to have originated in Ireland. Researchers determined that the vellum pages were made from the hides of Irish cattle, and monks traveled with the books to Switzerland more than a thousand years ago. This exhibition marks the first time in more than a millennium that the illuminated tomes have resided in Ireland.

Words on the Wave continues in Dublin through October 24. Learn more and plan your visit on the museum’s website.

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Roméo Mivekannin’s Cage-Like Sculptures of Museums Reframe the Colonial Past

Known for bold, chiaroscuro paintings that reimagine European art historical masterworks in his own likeness, Roméo Mivekannin is interested in the Western, colonial gaze on Africa and the power of archives to reveal underrepresented or untold stories. Born on the Ivory Coast, Mivekannin splits his time between Toulouse, France, and Cotonou, Benin. His practice interrogates visibility, appropriation, and power dynamics through direct and unflinching pieces spanning acrylic painting, installation, and sculpture.

At Art Basel last weekend, in collaboration with Galerie Barbara Thumm and Cécile Fakhoury, Mivekannin presented a large-scale installation titled Atlas, comprising a series of metal buildings suspended from the ceiling. Modeled after institutional buildings—in this case, museums that house enthographic collections—the artist draws attention to the colonialist practices and ethical gray areas that permeate these spaces and their histories.

Often founded upon controversial or dubiously-acquired personal collections of European urban elites, larger museums historically emphasized what was seen as “primitive” or “exotic,” exhibiting a skewed view of world cultures framed by a colonialist mindset. The British Museum, for example, was established in 1753 upon the death of Sir Hans Sloane, whose collection of more than 80,000 “natural and artificial rarities” provided the institution’s foundation. His wealth—and his collection—was amassed in part through enslaved labor on his sugar plantations in Jamaica.

Another well-known example of problematic collections include thousands of Benin Bronzes, housed in European institutions like the British Museum and others. British forces acquired many of these elaborately decorated plaques through pillage and looting in the late 19th century. Today, some museums have agreed to repatriate the bronzes to redress this historical indignity (the British Museum is still in discussions).

As a student of both art and architecture, Mivekannin taps into the way certain structures and built environments are designed to convey prestige and dominance. He is also currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the National Superior School of Architecture of Montpellier (ENSAM).

In Atlas, the structures take on the form of bird cages suspended from chains. Both elements symbolize captivity, likening ethnographic collections that often include human remains to what the Atlas exhibition statement describes as “human zoos.” In this context, the cages “serve as a reminder of the historical practices that sought to control and exploit ‘the Other.’”

Mivekannin bridges past and present in this installation, inviting viewers to walk around the museums within a space that shifts the power dynamic. The work encourages viewers “to confront uncomfortable truths about colonial legacies and their ongoing impact on our contemporary society.”

The artist scales down the museums’ palatial details to a diminutive size, displayed low, taking into consideration a kind of meta experience of the exhibition itself. In Mivekannin’s portrayal, the structures are both the cages and the caged.

A show of the artist’s paintings, Black Mirror, is currently on view at Collezione Maramotti in Reggio Emilia, Italy, through July 27. See more on the artist’s Instagram.

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London’s Largest Ancient Roman Fresco Makes for the ‘World’s Most Difficult Jigsaw Puzzle’

One of the remarkable things about a city like London, which has been inhabited for nearly 2,000 years, is that no matter where a developer chooses to build, chances are there’s some relic of the past buried below ground. Archaeologists are routinely called to new development sites to carefully verify the presence—or not—of everything from early structures to centuries-old graveyards. And in a place founded by the Romans shortly after 43 C.E., we can occasionally glimpse astonishing finds from well over 1,000 years ago.

This year, a team of researchers from the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) has been hard at work in a development site known as The Liberty, which has already revealed ancient mosaics and a mausoleum. But the discoveries keep coming. Scattered in pieces, the city’s largest-ever collection of painted Roman plaster was found amid the rubble, dating back at least 1,800 years.

The first structures on this site appeared between 43 and 150 C.E., and the frescoed wall would have stood in a high-status Roman building. Sometime before 200 C.E., the building was demolished and the plaster pieces discarded in a pit. Seeing the light of day for the first time since, it was a dream opportunity for MOLA researchers.

Han Li, MOLA’s Senior Building Material Specialist, spent three months reconfiguring the artwork with the help of a team of researchers. He explained that pieces had been jumbled together when the building was demolished, so figuring out how the fresco was originally composed took a lot of tinkering and patience. “It was like assembling the world’s most difficult jigsaw puzzle,” he says.

Even the most avid jigsaw fans will appreciate that this type of puzzle is a real mind-bender—there’s no picture to look at for comparison. But there are clues. This era of Roman painting commonly incorporated color panels with border motifs and elements that imitated stone slabs like porphyry without the expense or labor involved in hauling that much material. And while this work is fairly representative of the style, the use of the color yellow is particularly rare and found in only a few very luxurious buildings around the U.K.

The fresco also tells the story of visitors and passersby who left graffiti, including an image of a crying woman with a hairstyle common in the Flavian period (69 to 96 C.E.) and a carved Greek alphabet. It’s thought that the latter could have served a practical purpose, like a tally sheet or a checklist.

One special detail comes in the form of what’s known as a tabula ansata, a carving of a decorative tablet that Roman artists used to sign their work. It contains the Latin word “FECIT,” which means “has made this.” Sadly, the part where the artist’s name would have appeared is too broken to determine, so their identity will likely remain a mystery.

Explore more of MOLA’s excavations and projects on its website.

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wutopia lab’s prefabricated waterfront pavilion in shanghai wraps in aluminum & ceramic skin

the lake house is conceived as a ‘house within a house’

Wutopia Lab’s The Lake House – Life Experience Pavilion sits on the site of a former water base along a bayfront park in Shanghai, China. Developed as a design-build project with an accelerated timeline, the project integrates architecture, structure, interiors, signage, and curatorial display into a single modular strategy, transforming two existing buildings into a unified spatial journey. The pavilion, realized within a mere 40 days, reuses curtain wall ceramic panels from earlier residential developments and combines them with a lightweight metal skin system to create a dual-layered enclosure that distinguishes formal expression from climate performance.

The process began with chief architect Yu Ting surveying three potential sites and selecting one located directly on the water. The brief involved addressing that the park mandated that the original structures be preserved without disturbing even a millimeter of surrounding greenery, including two trees abutting the facades. The client requested integration of recycled materials and an architectural design that could be completed in just a couple of weeks. That same evening, Yu proposed a ‘house within a house’ concept, with two volumes clad respectively in metal and ceramic skins, both layered over the retained structural shells. Developed with structural consultant Miao Binhai, they shaped a metal skin that would form the functional climate envelope, while the ceramic would remain purely visual. Prefabricated modules, repeatable systems, and prefixed materials formed the core of Wutopia Lab’s fast-build strategy.

all images courtesy of Wutopia Lab

wutopia lab completes the pavilion within just 40 days

A modular coordination session followed, where every component was streamlined to meet the deadline. 150×150 millimeter steel profiles were integrated directly into the facade system, and cantilevered foundations on the waterfront were used to create a raised platform for rapid assembly. The resulting envelope blended aluminum cladding, vertical greenery, glass partitions, and ceramic panels into a single layered construction, blurring the boundaries between structure and skin.

Inside, the spatial journey of the Lake House unfolds as a horizontal composition, drawing from the metaphor of Chinese landscape scrolls. Wutopia Lab arranged a sequence of elements — preserved trees, vertical gardens, an entry lobby, exhibition halls, three individually themed VIP rooms, a willow colonnade, a terrace, and a waterside café — as a continuous and immersive path. Interior and exterior thresholds dissolved as a result, and orientation became intuitive through shifting materials, dappled daylight, and the calibrated interplay of solidity and openness.

Wutopia Lab completes The Lake House – Life Experience Pavilion

the prefabricated volumes inserts industrial textures in nature

Throughout the space, repurposed and unconventional materials create a quiet undercurrent, suggesting a more reflective engagement with sustainability. Marine plastic plaster, mushroom leather, recycled tiles, and glazed ceramics perform as tactile evidence of a material logic rooted in sensorial awareness. In one of the VIP rooms, a skylight was retained even after its accompanying stair was removed due to park restrictions. That improvised void now takes on a new reading, echoing old Shanghai tiger windows or mirroring the shape of a nearby tree hollow, and marking a moment of alignment between contingency and intention.

Despite its compressed timeline, Wutopia Lab’s Lake House resists the aesthetics of fast architecture and creates space for measured experience. In the final days before opening, a passerby stopped to run his hand across the pearlescent ceramic wall, pausing silently before walking away. For Yu Ting and the design team, that quiet gesture marked the real completion of the project.

a multifunctional pavilion

the project integrates architecture, structure, interiors, signage, and curatorial display into a single modular strategy

the pavilion reuses curtain wall ceramic panels from earlier residential developments

combined with a lightweight metal skin system

the client requested integration of recycled materials and a design that could be completed in just a couple of weeks

blending aluminum cladding, vertical greenery, glass partitions, and ceramic panels into a single layered construction

orientation became intuitive through shifting materials, dappled daylight, and the calibrated interplay of solidity and openness

the spatial journey unfolds as a horizontal composition, drawing from the metaphor of Chinese landscape scrolls

developed with structural consultant Miao Binhai

project info:

name: The Lake House – Life Experience Pavilion
architect: Wutopia Lab | @wutopia.lab

location: Shanghai, 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: ravail khan | designboom

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garden café and wellness studio ‘casa símera’ brings soft pink interiors to mexico city

casa símera: A garden Retreat in Mexico City

Casa Símera is a multifunctional project by architecture studio WORC, located in Mexico City. Combining a café, wellness studio, and communal gathering spaces, the architecture guides visitors through a gradual sequence of thresholds and atmospheres, each tuned to different rhythms of activity and rest.

Set back from the street and partially veiled by foliage, the entrance to Casa Símera feels more like the beginning of a garden path than a commercial storefront. A stone walkway leads to a shaded terrace where low seating and planter beds establish a sense of calm before entry. This open threshold softens the transition between public and interior life, allowing for a pause.

Inside, the café is carved into a series of sculptural alcoves. Curved benches nest individual tables along the walls, while a marble service bar runs through the center. Materials are tactile and warm, with clay tiles underfoot, earthy pink-toned plaster walls, and soft ambient lighting. Acoustic treatments are integrated, preserving a sense of quiet even during the most active hours of the day.

images © Zaickz Moz

worc curates a warm Material palette

The spatial core of Mexico City’s Casa Símera is an open vertical atrium, topped by a four-story skylight that draws light deep into the plan. Tiered concrete platforms offer informal gathering points, while a vertical garden climbs the surrounding walls, gradually enclosing the space in greenery. This courtyard anchors the project spatially and conceptually, acting as both a social hub and a visual conduit that links the café below to the wellness studio above.

Throughout Casa Símera, the material palette by the design team at WORC remains consistent and deliberate. Clay flooring, stainless steel accents, smooth natural fabrics, and live plants work together to create balance. Marble and steel offer moments of contrast, but nothing feels excessive. The result is an architecture that recedes just enough to let activity shape the space without disruption.

the entrance is framed by greenery and a stone path leading to a shaded terrace

the Wellness Studio Above

On Casa Símera’s upper level, WORC situates a wellness studio for a quiet counterpoint to the garden below. This windowless room is free of visual distractions, with a controlled environment engineered for hot pilates and slow movement practices. Lighting is diffuse and warm, with a focus on directional control to guide attention inward. Integrated climate and acoustic systems maintain comfort across a range of temperatures and intensities.

The studio’s architecture supports inward focus. Enclosed, softly lit, and thermally regulated, it invites users to disconnect and realign. While the lower levels are designed for interaction and social rhythm, this upper sanctuary encourages solitude and presence. WORC designs Casa Símera as a continuous spatial experience rather than a set of discrete zones. Circulation unfolds naturally from one space to the next, and each room is defined less by enclosure and more by atmosphere.

the café features curved benches, clay tile flooring, and sculpted alcoves for quiet gatherings

a marble bar and stainless steel details add subtle contrast to the earthy material palette

the upper floor wellness studio brings a quiet counterpoint to the garden below

this windowless room suits hot pilates and slow movement practices

 project info:

name: Casa Símera

architect: WORC | @worc.studio

location: Polanco, Mexico City, Mexico

lead architects: Ricardo Martínez, Camila Ureña

architects: Ricardo Martínez, Camila Ureña, Isabel Ortega, Ivana Dominguez

area: 240 square meters

photography: © Zaickz Moz | @zaickz.moz

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elevated concrete truss frame forms vocational school for construction trades in zurich

Gunz & Künzle Architekt*innen’s Multi-Functional School

Located in central Zurich, Switzerland, the new vocational school for construction trades was designed by Gunz & Künzle Architekt*innen to serve both educational and civic functions. The building maximizes classroom space while also contributing public areas to the surrounding neighborhood. The building’s elongated form follows the street edge, establishing a spacious courtyard that provides access to communal programs located on the first floor. This elevated level, designed as a truss frame structure, is suspended over the gymnasiums, which span from the basement to ground level.

Internally, the building is organized with a rational grid system on the upper levels, supporting classroom layouts that prioritize spatial efficiency. The first floor features a flexible, open-plan space intended for multiple functions. This space incorporates robust materials, curtain partitions, and multifunctional modular furniture to accommodate exhibitions, events, and hands-on construction workshops.

all images by Federico Farinatti

Exposed Concrete structure as Educational Tool in Architecture

The exposed concrete structure acts as a durable framework designed for long-term adaptability. This system-oriented approach by Gunz & Künzle Architekt*innen Studio supports sustainability goals by allowing the building to evolve through future modification and reuse. Rather than presenting a fixed architectural image, the project foregrounds construction processes and user appropriation as key components of its identity. By integrating building systems into both the function and appearance of the structure, the vocational school becomes an active teaching tool, demonstrating construction techniques and architectural logic to its users.

project info:

name: Vocational school for construction trades
architect: Gunz & Künzle Architekt*innen | @gunzkuenzle

location: Zurich, Switzerland

photographer: Federico Farinatti | @federicofarinatti

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 kinetic pavilions to indigenous intelligence: inside ‘time space existence’ in venice

Time Space Existence returns for its seventh edition

The seventh edition of Time Space Existence, the biennial architecture exhibition organized by the European Cultural Centre (ECC), returns to Venice through 23 November 2025. Spread across four historic venues — Palazzo Mora, Palazzo Bembo, Palazzo Michiel, and the Marinaressa Gardens — the show brings together 207 participants from over 52 countries, reaffirming its role as a global platform for architectural dialogue and experimentation. This year’s theme, Repair, Regenerate, Reuse, invites architects, designers, artists, and researchers to respond with works that span speculative proposals, academic research, and built interventions. Highlights include a net-zero housing prototype by HOLCIM and ELEMENTAL, and Sombra, a kinetic, light-responsive pavilion by MVRDV, both installed at Marinaressa Gardens. Notable contributions also come from Zaha Hadid Architects, Adjaye Associates, Korean architect Moon Hoon, and many more.

Elemental and Holcim Basic Services Unit installation view at Marinaressa Gardens | all images © Celestia Studio

REPAIR, REGENERATE, REUSE

This year’s exhibition invites tangible responses to climate and social crises. Instead of posing hypothetical questions, participants present real-world solutions: architecture studio Vuild addresses rural decline in Japan using local forestry and digital fabrication, while Semillas empowers Amazonian communities through participatory architecture. Canadian firm Blouin Orzes blends traditional Inuit knowledge with modern techniques to respond to harsh northern climates.

The exhibition also includes speculative futures: Collectif Carré Noir imagines a utopian territorial reorganization, and Delft University showcases Indigenous-led design methodologies through film. These works question architecture’s conventional limits, embracing regeneration and equity as central design imperatives.

Semillas installation view at Palazzo Mora

HIGHLIGHTS across venetian venues

The Marinaressa Gardens become a laboratory of environmental dialogue. HOLCIM and Alejandro Aravena’s ELEMENTAL unveil a scalable housing prototype using low-carbon materials. MVRDV’s Sombra, a kinetic installation responsive to sun and shade, explores architecture’s adaptive potential. Meanwhile, Virginia Tech and Cloud 9’s PolliNATION pavilion reintroduces pollinators to the Venetian lagoon, turning ecological restoration into spatial form.

Meanwhile, across venues, many projects foreground material reuse, vernacular methods, and local identity. Coburg University constructs a pavilion from regional ‘waste timber’; GRAS and Huguet experiment with terrazzo made from recycled fragments. Zaha Hadid Architects and University of Calgary explore modular systems designed for disassembly and reuse, advancing circular construction logic.

Others engage history and place: Materia (Mexico) reimagines cultural heritage buildings in harmony with the landscape, while A Interiors blends desert tradition with contemporary living in Riyadh. María Isabel Paz preserves endangered textile techniques through urban storytelling in handmade rugs.

MVRDV, Airshade Technologies, Metadecor, Alumet, ARUP, Van Rossum Engineering, AMOLF Institute SOMBRA installation view at Marinaressa Gardens

A LIVING LAB FOR FUTURE ARCHITECTURE

With projects ranging from activist landscapes to modular prototypes and speculative utopias, Time Space Existence 2025 offers a cross-section of how architecture can regenerate rather than extract, reconnect rather than divide. As ECC’s Rachele De Stefano notes, the exhibition doesn’t just ask what architecture is, but what it could become — a driver of systemic change rooted in repair, resilience, and responsibility.

Enter Projects Asia Interwoven, 2025 installation view at Marinaressa Gardens

Juan José Castellón xmade Rice University Impluvium Redux installation view at Palazzo Mora

Moon Hoon installation view at Palazzo Bembo

Coral Gallery – Roberto Vivo The Human Tribe Totem, 2024 installation view at Marinaressa Gardens

Henriquez Partners Architects Symplasma, 2025 installation view at Palazzo Bembo

Adjaye Associates International Children’s Cancer Research Centre, 2025 installation view at Palazzo Bembo

Pfeifer Jones Architecture Organ Drone Dome, 2025 installation view at Palazzo Mora

project info: 

name: Time Space Existence 2025
organized by: European Cultural Centre (ECC) | @ecc_italy
location: Palazzo Mora, Palazzo Bembo, Palazzo Michiel, Marinaressa Gardens in Venice, Italy 
dates: 10 May – 23 November 2025

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ASWA’s riverside wedding venue shapes continuous curves into ring formation in bangkok

Rarin Wedding Venue forms a ring enclosing an oval courtyard

Located along the Chao Phraya River in Thailand, the Rarin Wedding Venue by ASWA (Architectural Studio of Work – Aholic) presents a circular architectural design that references the symbolic form of a wedding ring. The structure employs continuous curves to unify two adjacent courtyards, creating a spatial loop that links indoor and outdoor elements.

The primary entrance opens onto an enclosed oval courtyard that receives direct daylight through an open void extending vertically through the building. This design strategy enhances natural ventilation and illuminates the central space without mechanical systems. A spiral staircase situated in this courtyard provides vertical circulation, connecting guests to the second level while acting as an architectural focal point.

all images by SkyGround

ASWA’s design balances open and intimate spatial configurations

Programmatically, the second floor accommodates an engagement room and an adjacent restaurant. The restaurant has a seating capacity of approximately 80 and offers panoramic views of the river through a 180-degree glazed facade. This area can also be reconfigured for alternative event functions as needed.

On the ground floor, access to the main hall is defined by a path lit with linear ceiling lights, subtly guiding movement. The hall is designed to host both dining and dance events, balancing open spatial requirements with an intimate configuration. Toward the rear of the site, a large outdoor courtyard provides additional space for ceremonies or receptions. The design team at ASWA integrates landscape elements, including soft lawns and modular seating, to support various event setups and seasonal conditions.

the venue’s circular form evokes the symbolism of a wedding ring

The venue’s spatial planning allows for phased usage and future adaptation. A rooftop after-party bar is currently under development and scheduled for completion by the end of 2025. Overall, the design emphasizes circulation, flexibility, and the integration of indoor and outdoor environments, making the venue suitable for a range of event formats while maintaining a coherent architectural identity.

continuous curves unify the building’s two main courtyards

the venue sits along the banks of Thailand’s Chao Phraya River

the wedding-ring-shaped structure connects the two open courtyards

a centrally located, spiral staircase ascends to the second floor

upon arrival, guests enter through the main entrance outlined by an enclosed oval courtyard

at ground level, guests navigate through the ring-shaped entrance, guided by a ceiling lighting pattern

natural ventilation and daylight shape the core spatial experience

natural sunlight from the void brightens the engagement space

second floor includes an engagement room and river-view restaurant

a restaurant can be converted into additional event space, offering panoramic views of the Chao Phraya River

project info:

name: Rarin Wedding Venue

architects: ASWA (Architectural Studio of Work – Aholic) | @aswa_bangkok

design team: Phuttipan Aswakool, Chotiros Techamongklapiwat, Puwan Wattanajarungrat, Ananya Rakaphai, Peerada Porkaew, Napasorn Luengkiattikhun

area: 2,000 sqm

location: Bangkok, Thailand

photographer: SkyGround architectural film & photography | @dofskyground

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translucent drapes encircle forest floor for nami nami’s concéntrico installation in spain

nami nami studio’s wildlings encourages urban, elemental play

At the 2025 edition of the Concéntrico festival in Spain, Nami nami studio presents Wildlings, a spatial installation that reconsiders how urban environments can host instinctive, tactile forms of play. Installed within a quiet plaza, the work forms a sensory-rich playground as it loosely defines a circular zone treated as a mutable forest bed filled with pine cones, pebbles, soil, and branches. The materials are left only casually arranged to foreground their sensory and spatial properties as they elementally ground the structure in the urban setting, and encourage active engagement for rearrangement through touch and motion.

Architect Klára Koldová and designer Eduard Herrmann articulate the perimeter through a lightweight frame constructed from aluminum rods and telescopic fishing poles, anchored by eight large stones collected from the surrounding landscape. A translucent fabric shroud encircles the site, filtering light and air as it ripples with the wind, allowing gentle glimpses through.

all images by Vojtěch Veškrna

a sensory-rich playground at Concéntrico in Logroño, spain

Each year, Concéntrico invites architects and designers to rethink the public realm through temporary architectural gestures in Logroño. For Czech practice Nami nami studio, whose work under the Nami Play label has recently focused on developing new typologies for exploratory play, the intervention continues an evolving inquiry into how spatial design can supportthe intervention continues an evolving inquiry into how spatial design can support early cognitive and emotional development without overdetermining it. cognitive and emotional development without overdetermining it. Wildlings defines a boundary condition that is spatially legible but materially open for this playground which enables informal and spontaneous exploration to unfold. The structure can be assembled and disassembled quickly, and the apparent fragility of its structure reinforces its responsiveness to context.

The installation also stems from the studio’s broader interest in how sensory experience can shape our understanding of space. They frame play as a form embodied research, where the act of engaging with natural materials becomes a way to explore atmosphere, texture, and one’s orientation within the environment. The design then creates conditions that support many forms of interaction and raw encounters; someone might sit quietly on a cool stone, or walk barefoot across the soil, or rearrange branches into new patterns. Each encounter remains open-ended, shaped by presence and attention in the moment.

Nami nami studio presents Wildling at Concéntrico

the spatial installation reconsiders how urban environments can host instinctive, tactile forms of play

Nami nami articulates the perimeter through a lightweight frame constructed from aluminum rods and telescopic fishing pole

a circular zone treated as a mutable forest bed filled with pine cones, pebbles, soil, and branches

the translucent fabric shroud filters light and air as it ripples with the wind, allowing gentle glimpses through

anchored by eight large stones collected from the surrounding landscape

the work forms a sensory-rich playground

the structure can be assembled and disassembled quickly

project info:

name: Wildlings

architect: Nami nami | @nami_nami_studio

photographer: Vojtěch Veškrna | @vojtechveskrna

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