The Rhizome House designed by DP Architects and DP Lighting in partnership with lighting partner FLOS and partner Krislite / One Concept Co. is one of 23 selected lighting installations, and the only Asian and Singaporean finalist entry to be picked for the Illuminade route at the ongoing Amsterdam Light Festival in the Netherlands.

In response to Illuminade’s theme of “Biomimicry”, the team began the project by investigating the process of bio-construction and why animals build. The resulting installation is biomimetic in principle. Inspired by the interconnected systems found in natural organisms, the innovative design is geometrically derived from nature’s root-like rhizome structures.

The aptly named Rhizome House installation is sited at the Hermitage Dock, one of the prime locations along the walkable Illuminade route. It contains brilliantly changing RGB light diodes and weather-resistant, translucent high-density polyethylene material parametrically shaped as root structures that grow, branch and connect. Visitors are encouraged to explore their way through the roots, where the lights change colour in response to movement.

The installation is housed within a steel frame that recalls the construction of Dutch canal houses, and the design serves as a synthesis of the type of structures animals build – homes, traps and displays, thus forming a thought-provoking, fun and interactive connection between all three.

Images courtesy of DP Architects

Amsterdam Light Festival runs till 22 January 2017. The installations at the Illuminade walking route will be on till 8 January only, with the exception of Rhizome House, which ends on 22 January.