watch designboom’s top 10 video picks of 2023

We complete our BIG STORIES roundup with the most show-stopping and impactful video productions featured on designboom this year. From Marco Brambilla’s gigantic AI-driven video work at the Sphere Las Vegas, to Saudi Arabia’s ambitious Red Sea project, Glenstone Museum’s inspiring short film dedicated to Richard Sierra, and David Chipperfield’s Pritzker Prize ceremony, this final selection sheds light on groundbreaking narratives and milestones unfolding through film. Read on as we compile the TOP 10 videos of 2023 — journeying through artificial intelligence, firework art, cavernous underground galleries, and more.

WORLDWIDE DIGITAL FILM PREMIERE: ‘YOU ARE THE SUBJECT: RICHARD SERRA AT GLENSTONE’

Celebrating the completion of its newest building by Thomas Phifer and Partners, Glenstone Museum premieres its short film titled ‘You Are The Subject: Richard Serra at Glenstone.’ The film follows the installation of Richard Serra‘s sculpture ‘Four Rounds: Equal Weight, Unequal Measure’, 2017 in the new Pavilion which had been created specifically to house the colossal work. While the film showed last month at Montreal’s international film festival Le FiFA 2023, it is now being unveiled by producers Glenstone Museum and Rava Films with designboom in a worldwide digital premiere. In time for the film’s premiere, designboom spoke with Thomas Phifer about his collaboration with Richard Serra and how the architecture was informed by the sculpture inside.

JAPAN’S FIRST DAYTIME FIREWORKS BY CAI GUO-QIANG & SAINT LAURENT CAST BOLD HUES IN THE SKY

Renowned contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang set off the first daytime fireworks in Japan, along the Iwaki coastline in Fukushima. Commissioned by Anthony Vaccarello for French fashion house Saint Laurent, the artwork entitled When the Sky Blooms with Sakura, set off about 40,000 fireworks in tribute to those who lost their lives in tragedies, including the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and three-year-long Coronavirus pandemic that ruthlessly claimed millions of souls worldwide. ‘Informed by the ethos of Eastern philosophy where rebirth is attained through transcending trauma, [the artwork] aspires to bolster the resilient human spirit in the face of global adversity, conveying a message of hope and renaissance,’ shares Saint Laurent.

FIRST LOOK: OWEN BROWN’S MUSIC VIDEO UNVEILS ONE OF THE BIGGEST LAND ART PIECES IN ARIZONA

Award-winning director Owen Brown presents his latest short film, unveiling the narrative behind Arizona’s largest temporary land art installation, second only to James Turrell’s Roden Crater. Completed by Jim Denevan in collaboration with over 30 Navajo people, the colossal piece adorns the rugged Arizona desert landscape, serving as a mesmerizing backdrop for the latest music video by electro-rock band A R I Z O N A, titled Moving On. Crafted to emanate a sense of hope, the film starts in a dry riverbed, surrounded by an expansive 300-foot-wide art installation, concluding with a striking light art show. The unique project not only marks the first-ever music video featuring a major land art piece but also pioneers the construction of a football field-sized lighting rig above land art, producing a towering 300-foot-tall light show. In a conversation with designboom, Owen Brown sheds light on the project, delving into the creative process, the individuals involved, and the meaning behind this ambitious undertaking.

GIGANTIC LED SPHERE ILLUMINATES LAS VEGAS SKYLINE FOR THE FIRST TIME

On the 4th of July, 2023, the Sphere, the futuristic music venue orb designed by Populous, lit up and transformed the Las Vegas skyline into a mesmerizing lighting spectacle. During its inaugural show, the Sphere’s exterior, known as the Exosphere and the world’s largest LED screen, served as a 580,000-square-foot canvas for a captivating display, showcasing animated scenes that included fireworks, the American flag, the Moon, and even a colossal blinking eyeball that greets guests with a ‘Hello World’ message. This remarkable feature of the Sphere is specifically designed to present a dynamic range of artistic and branded content, captivating not only the venue’s guests but also the annual influx of over 40 million visitors to Las Vegas. Interestingly, the impact of these mesmerizing visuals extends far beyond the local audience: The first show garnered significant attention on social media platforms, reaching people around the globe, and further amplifying the Sphere’s enchantment.

MARCO BRAMBILLA ON KING SIZE, HIS MONUMENTAL ELVIS PRESLEY ARTWORK AT THE SPHERE LAS VEGAS

A 16K resolution immersive artwork for the opening of Sphere in Las Vegas has stunned concert-goers by celebrating the ‘king of rock’n’roll’, Elvis Presley, like never before. Film director and video artist Marco Brambilla was invited to concoct the digital artwork dubbed KING SIZE — the largest video collage ever made for rock band U2’s inaugural residency at the Sphere. Created using state-of-the-art AI and CGI technologies, the project was on view from September 29 to December 16, 2023, imbuing the audience with Elvis’s world through a staggering 15,000 sqm display screen with a 180-degree field of view.

SOUGWEN CHUNG CO-CREATES & MEDITATES WITH MULTI-ROBOTICS THROUGH BIOSENSORS

A pioneer in the realm of human-machine collaboration, Chinese-Canadian artist and researcher Sougwen Chung has long explored the mark-made-by-hand and the mark-made-by-machine to delve into the dynamics between humans, AI systems, and robotics. The artist’s most recent work, Assembly Lines, spans research, dataset, performance, installation, and drawing, demonstrating a poetic exploration of co-creation between the biological and mechanical. The kinetic installation unfolds as a ceremonial collaboration between the artist and their new generation of custom robotic art assistants, beginning with a live 24 minute meditation in which Chung co-creates with the newly upgraded D.O.U.G._5 system. Through an E.E.G headset, the robotic arms synchronize with Chung’s biometrics, sensing and responding to their brainwaves with paintbrushes in hand, as two together indulge in the centering rituals of drawing and meditation.

WATCH: PRITZKER PRIZE CELEBRATES DAVID CHIPPERFIELD IN NEW DOCUMENTARY VIDEO FROM ATHENS

The Pritzker Prize has released a new documentary-style video celebrating Sir David Alan Chipperfield, the 2023 laureate of the prestigious architecture award. ‘A better and more beautiful world must focus on the challenges of environment and equality. Architectural achievement independent of these concerns will have less meaning, which I believe will affect our very sense of what we will judge to be beautiful,’ remarks the 52nd Laureate during the ceremony, held at the Ancient Agora of Athens, Greece. ‘We must become increasingly committed to the idea that architecture has purpose, and that the architectural community can play a bigger role in the way we plan our future.’

A LOOK INSIDE MARIO CUCINELLA’S CAVERNOUS INTERIORS FOR LUIGI ROVATI FOUNDATION IN MILAN

In the autumn of 2022, Mario Cucinella Architects (MCA) unveiled their design for the new art museum of the Luigi Rovati Foundation in Milan. The design introduced a series of cavernous underground galleries, carefully crafted to showcase both Etruscan and contemporary art. Now, nearly two years later, the museum stands as an open and hybrid space that breathes culture into the vibrant Italian city.An exclusive film created by the team at Mario Cucinella Architects in collaboration with London-based filmmaker Tapio Snellman bears witness to the cultural significance of the project. The film takes viewers through the complete transformation of Milan’s historic 19th-century Palazzo Bocconi-Rizzoli-Carraro, showcasing how it contributes to the city’s cultural and civic landscape.

SAUDI ARABIA’S RED SEA PROJECT SHARES SIX-YEAR PROGRESS ON SHURA ISLAND BY FOSTER + PARTNERS

The Red Sea Project, a luxury tourism development in Saudi Arabia, celebrates its six years of construction progress. Originally introduced as part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, the project has released a new video showcasing the updates on its popular destinations, including three hotels and an international airport. Among the hotels is the Shura Island also known as the Coral Bloom concept designed by Foster + Partners.

ECHOING ANCIENT BRICK RUINS, THIS PUBLIC CENTER IN INDIA PEEPS THROUGH A DENSE TROPICAL FLORA

Just outside the Indian village of Kaggalipura, some 40 km south of Bangalore in Karnataka, a series of brick walls peeps through the dense tropical vegetation of mango, banana, coconut, and sugar cane. Although resembling ancient ruins, the structures – aptly named Subterranean Ruins – are part of an unusual architectural project by local practice, A Threshold. Not far from Bannerghatta National Park, an ideal destination for birdwatchers, the village of Kaggalipura, named after the Kaggali tree (Acacia catechu), a constant feature of the rural landscape of this important agricultural area is home to a few thousand inhabitants, many of whom – laborers, artists, and craftsmen – were directly involved in the building process. Explore the hidden corners of this nature-filled architecture as captured by London-based photographer Edmund Sumner.