Flower of Life

The Flower of Life was conceived in collaboration with the US–Canadian sustainability platform We-Impact, who invited us to interpret the act of recycling through a symbolic installation. The inspiration arrived one spring morning in Beijing: the chrysanthemum—China’s flower of fortune. Rather than reproducing it literally, we sought to construct it from the very materials the industrial system had rejected.

More than 300 defective anodized-gold aluminum tent poles, discarded for their imperfect finishes and structural inconsistencies, became the project’s core. A circular MDF base was drilled with dozens of openings, into which each pole was inserted. Rising to a height of roughly 3.3 meters, the slender elements leaned gently under their own weight, naturally composing a field of metallic petals.

To animate the structure, we sourced abandoned glass candle holders from a disused factory outside Beijing. Suspended along the poles and lit with real candles, they introduced a fragile constellation of light. Red strings—symbols of luck and prosperity in Chinese culture—were woven through the structure, stabilizing the poles while reinforcing the dialogue between gold and red.

During Beijing Design Week, the installation moved subtly with the wind. Visitors stepped into the centre of the chrysanthemum to sit, pause, and meditate. In a year dominated by carbon composites, titanium 3D printing and digital projections, Flower of Life deliberately returned to a more primitive language: recycled materials, gravity, fire and air.

Some visitors affectionately called it the “hippie pavilion.”
We took it as a compliment.