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Digital Phyllotaxy

Prize(s) Honorable Mentions

Lead Designers Jason Bruges Studio

Architecture Company Foster + Partners

Client Hankook Tire

Photo Credits Giraffe Pictures

Completion Date 22/09/2020

Project Location Seoul, South Korea

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Entry Description

Deriving its name from the arrangement of leaves on a stem, Digital Phyllotaxy is a vast media artwork located within the architectural ‘oculus’ of the new Hankook Tire Technoplex in Pangyo, Seoul. Inspired by the vertical journey through the building, the artwork explores the idea of split-level experiences. As people ascend into the office, they witness the interplay of dappled light below, within and above a tree canopy. Leaves digitally rustle and change colour with the seasons transforming the journey on the escalator into an encounter with nature.

With a bespoke media assembly, the artwork uses technology to bring an essence of the natural world inside the building. Layered edge-lit LED units and liquid crystal shutters create delicate volumes of illumination and obscuration representing the way light filters through leaves. A varied palette of inputs including the movement of passersby, sun paths and wind speeds, trigger generative colours and textures that update with the changing seasons. Illustrating the intricate coexistence of nature, modern art and technology, Digital Phyllotaxy aims to create a workplace that is restorative and supports people’s wellbeing.