A mirrored drop above Sayram, plants climbing perforated aluminum in the Bronx, a postcard-like labyrinth on San Giorgio, a giant hearth in Olot’s main square, and floating rings over Kazan: this week’s selection focuses on installations and small architectural forms.
Heart of Sayram Lake | Zhide Architects | Xinjiang, China
This water drop-shaped installation is set by the high-altitude Sayram Lake, known as the "last tear of the Atlantic." Its mirrored surface reflects snow, meadows, and the lake, while a red wire mesh contrasts with the cold landscape of Xinjiang. Ripples radiate from the center, where two interwoven wedding rings by DR Diamond Ring are placed. The installation is interactive: visitors leave stones from the shore and engraved padlocks inside.
Greenhouse Prototype 2 | Demaël-Zimmerer | New York, USA
Until October 5, 2026, a mobile "greenhouse-shelter" stands in the New York Botanical Garden, replacing a sealed pavilion. Architects Hermine Demaël and Steven Zimmerer, together with botanist Evelyne Béry, built it from recycled aluminum used in a previous installation in Syracuse. Perforated panels follow the curve of the historic glass roof and feature a leaf vein pattern. Over time, the structure is meant to dissolve into the garden as living plants climb its surface.
Labirinto Borges | Randoll Coate | Venice, Italy
On San Giorgio Maggiore island, a 1,150-meter boxwood labyrinth dedicated to Jorge Luis Borges has reopened after restoration. Labyrinth designer Randoll Coate conceived the idea in a dream in 1979; after Borges' death in 1986, he built the first version in Argentina, followed by Venice in 2011. The boxwood, set on a Corten steel structure, forms an open book: the name BORGES can be read across its "pages," with symbols of a cane, eyes, and a question mark inside. Restoration included replacing 165 plants, upgrading irrigation, and adding a tactile map at the entrance.
Fossil Opera | Théo Mercier | Nantes, France
For Le Voyage à Nantes 2026, artist Théo Mercier created an "archaeological" landscape installation using quarry sand, construction gravel, and decommissioned cars. Crushed car bodies emerge from sand dunes like fossils. After the festival, all materials will return to their original cycles: sand to quarries, gravel to recycling, and cars to scrap. A sound composition by Sammy Baloji enhances the excavation atmosphere.
Llar | Sarquella + Torres | Olot, Spain
At the Lluèrnia light and fire festival in Olot, Sarquella + Torres installed a 15-meter "fireplace" called Llar (Catalan for "hearth") on Plaça Major. A steel rod anchors the structure to basalt stones, while a reflective canopy retains heat above the fire. Smoke exits through an extended chimney, leaving soot on the inner surfaces. This ephemeral installation transforms the square into a communal living room, where fire becomes the architectural center.
CYCLES N2 | SpY | Kazan, Russia
Spanish artist SpY continues his Cycles series at the NUR media art festival: inside the URAM extreme park, 15 glowing rings are suspended overhead. Each moves vertically at its own rhythm, constantly reshaping the composition. Light glides across the circles, altering the perception of depth and scale. The rings rise and fall, turning the kinetic sculpture into a living spatial drawing.
@gorkjournal · GORK
3D · Photo · Render · Ai
Heart of Sayram Lake | Zhide Architects | Xinjiang, China
This water drop-shaped installation is set by the high-altitude Sayram Lake, known as the "last tear of the Atlantic." Its mirrored surface reflects snow, meadows, and the lake, while a red wire mesh contrasts with the cold landscape of Xinjiang. Ripples radiate from the center, where two interwoven wedding rings by DR Diamond Ring are placed. The installation is interactive: visitors leave stones from the shore and engraved padlocks inside.
Greenhouse Prototype 2 | Demaël-Zimmerer | New York, USA
Until October 5, 2026, a mobile "greenhouse-shelter" stands in the New York Botanical Garden, replacing a sealed pavilion. Architects Hermine Demaël and Steven Zimmerer, together with botanist Evelyne Béry, built it from recycled aluminum used in a previous installation in Syracuse. Perforated panels follow the curve of the historic glass roof and feature a leaf vein pattern. Over time, the structure is meant to dissolve into the garden as living plants climb its surface.
Labirinto Borges | Randoll Coate | Venice, Italy
On San Giorgio Maggiore island, a 1,150-meter boxwood labyrinth dedicated to Jorge Luis Borges has reopened after restoration. Labyrinth designer Randoll Coate conceived the idea in a dream in 1979; after Borges' death in 1986, he built the first version in Argentina, followed by Venice in 2011. The boxwood, set on a Corten steel structure, forms an open book: the name BORGES can be read across its "pages," with symbols of a cane, eyes, and a question mark inside. Restoration included replacing 165 plants, upgrading irrigation, and adding a tactile map at the entrance.
Fossil Opera | Théo Mercier | Nantes, France
For Le Voyage à Nantes 2026, artist Théo Mercier created an "archaeological" landscape installation using quarry sand, construction gravel, and decommissioned cars. Crushed car bodies emerge from sand dunes like fossils. After the festival, all materials will return to their original cycles: sand to quarries, gravel to recycling, and cars to scrap. A sound composition by Sammy Baloji enhances the excavation atmosphere.
Llar | Sarquella + Torres | Olot, Spain
At the Lluèrnia light and fire festival in Olot, Sarquella + Torres installed a 15-meter "fireplace" called Llar (Catalan for "hearth") on Plaça Major. A steel rod anchors the structure to basalt stones, while a reflective canopy retains heat above the fire. Smoke exits through an extended chimney, leaving soot on the inner surfaces. This ephemeral installation transforms the square into a communal living room, where fire becomes the architectural center.
CYCLES N2 | SpY | Kazan, Russia
Spanish artist SpY continues his Cycles series at the NUR media art festival: inside the URAM extreme park, 15 glowing rings are suspended overhead. Each moves vertically at its own rhythm, constantly reshaping the composition. Light glides across the circles, altering the perception of depth and scale. The rings rise and fall, turning the kinetic sculpture into a living spatial drawing.
@gorkjournal · GORK
3D · Photo · Render · Ai