Sound of Blooming: 697 mechanical petals dancing on a computational choreography

In 2018, Sound of Blooming presented itself as the highlight of the World Flora Exposition in Taichung, in 2019 it won the Golden Pin Design Awards for the Integration Design Category. It’s a beautiful example on how to reconnect nature with man-made creations.

Taichung World Flora Exposition is the annual Taiwanese event focusing on bringing awareness to the natural habitat in retrospect of human surroundings and bonding them on a more tangible level.

Sound of Blooming was part of this narrative in 2018, recalling the beauty of nature through a large-scale installation with mechanical flowers blossoming through a dynamic multi-sensory experience.

The minds behind Sound of Blooming – Luxury Logico

Luxury Logico is an ultramodern digital team based in Taiwan, formed in 2010 as a collaboration by two artists. The founders, with their respective methods of execution and conceptual thinking, ultimately resulted in creating high-tech machine-software interactions to produce a series of astounding works.

For this project, Luxury Logico collaborated with twelve Taichung-based companies to form this incredible work-of-art for Taichung World Flora Expo 2018, displayed in the Nature category.

Materials & Techniques – Space-frames and Motor units

Sound of Blooming is a computational design created through visual programming software Grasshopper by students, faculties, and assistants from IaaC, Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia.

The structure was envisioned as a giant spherical shape formed by space-frames: geometric components made of steel struts. On the periphery of the structure, flexible fabrics are installed to replicate flower petals. 

Each petal is an excellent formation of 250 small motor-units, sensible to sunlight and wind, resulting in forming natural patterns. The “petals” are constructed to react to visitors’ touch and sounds.

Style & Aesthetics – Vibrant production

The project is an intricate composition of lights, sounds, and hundreds of industrial-components joined with motors, resulting in an absolute theatrical kinetic installation. However the structure is a cold industrial base, the bright red-colored petals create a cheerful contrasting look.

The stiff and modern body hides under organic movements, where each petal gets its own time to shine, leaving the viewers in awe and contemplation.

The uplifting tunes combined with rhythmic lighting generate an immersive feeling amongst the viewers, leaving them with a deeply moving piece of memory resembling a dreamlike blossoming flower.

Sound of Blooming – Where did it all begin?

Flowers tend to give joy and happiness and are widely used as a sign of appreciation across different cultures.

In the 2018 World Flora Exposition, the Taichung administration invited citizens to listen carefully to the messages conveyed by Mother Nature, where Sound of Blooming became the highlight of the event, later winning the Golden Pin Design Awards 2019 in the Integration Design Category.

Design memento – Technologically advanced entertainment

Inspired by the life of nature and flower blossoms, this installation elaborates on the complex process of plants’ growth and life cycle, through natural and organic movements.

With interaction & experience being core components of the current design world, the dramatic presence, and involvement promoted by Sound of Blooming stands as an awe-inspiring example of today’s large scale design installations.

The writer’s comment: “I’d be standing in one spot yet moving”

Thinking as a performer on stage, you would want to give the most memorable experience to the audience. That is exactly what Sound of Blooming is doing, without even shifting or stepping, yet flowing and dancing. 

Impressive…. isn’t it?