rising moon: lantern pavilion made from recycled water bottles

rising moon: lantern pavilion made from recycled water bottles
image courtesy of daydreamers design © raymond tam

a hemispheric art installation made from recycled plastic bottles and LEDs lights-up the hong kong cityscape. hong kong-based studio daydreamers design have conceived ‘rising moon’, an illuminating geodesic dome created for the mid-autumn festival ‘lantern wonderland 2013’ in victoria park. 4,800, five-gallon polycarbonate water bottles act as individual beacons, referencing the cavernous shape of traditional chinese paper lanterns. the plastic-contained LED torches are attached to pre-fabricated triangular modules and are assembled as a pavilion, whose interior is fitted with a sea of 2,300 bottles hanging in an undulating formation from the ceiling. an opening at the crown of the 20-meter-diameter sphere allows moonlight to pass inside, lighting-up both in the internal space as well as the reflective pool of water it sits on. the position of the floating sculpture manifests refractions of changing lunar phases on the surface of the water. following its deconstruction, the temporary space will be completely recycled, promoting hong kong as a sustainable city.

below is a video of the official light show video for lantern wonderland 2013, for which ‘rising moon’ design won the gold award:

image courtesy of daydreamers design © charles chun wai lai

image courtesy of daydreamers design © charles chun wai lai

image courtesy of daydreamers design © charles chun wai lai

image courtesy of daydreamers design ©  vincent chi hin kar

image courtesy of daydreamers design ©  vincent chi hin kar

image courtesy of daydreamers design © charles chun wai lai

image courtesy of daydreamers design © bob cheung

image courtesy of daydreamers design © jay ho ka wong

below is a time-lapse video, which captured the ten days of construction of the giant moon at the victoria park for the mid-autumn festival.

image courtesy of daydreamers design © jay ho ka wong

image courtesy of daydreamers design © jay ho ka wong

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