Concept

We were looking for a simple design, taking inspiration from local culture, customs, and traditions. And so we took on the sound of the kkwaenggwari, the purity of Korean calligraphy, the bluish shimmers of the Hangang river, the waving branches of palm trees.

Crystal calligraphy

Calligraphy is about looking for perfection, and finding it. Pure and balanced lines, the divine letter. What messages you read in the light is entirely up to you.

Sea reflections

Blue surface of the sea and silvery shimmers of the sun reflecting in its foamy waves. Birds in the wind, white sands. Billions of tiny droplets poured together into a single great infinity.

Mirthful cascade

As if around a tree, one of the hotel stairways twines around the airy and delicate lighting body. Its lightness evokes the elegance of flowers.

Flutes

Airy element is represented by a set of glass flutes of different length. Instead of music, these mirroring instruments stream light.

The story behind the light

Sketches

It all begins with pencil and paper. Advances through computer simulations. Models. All the way out to the final work of art.

Production

Working on the lighting installations for the Four Seasons hotel in Seoul, we had the chance to show what’s there about us. We came up with several installations at once that in their own ways responded to and enhanced traditional Korean motifs. And, of course, the on-site installation.

Components

The Crystal Calligraphy installation is perhaps the best way to illustrate the importance of a tension between a component and a whole. Individual pieces are sharp and toothy, literally threatening by their looks. Yet they harmonize with the whole in an elegant curve that may include their sharp edges but absorbs them, turning them into an arch.

Installations

We literally interwove the building with light. We even lit up the presidential suite with a special lighting installation, and several more lighting objects came into flower in the hotel’s vicinity.

Light in space

We felt like we were about to fit a diamond in a beautiful piece of jewellery. Firmly yet precisely, on the spot. On the very spot in the universe it rightfully belongs.