haruka misawa undulates glass to create delicate aquariums in ‘waterscapes’

japanese designer haruka misawa introduces her project ‘waterscapes’. the project consists of two reimagined aquariums that are designed as sophisticated water landscapes where fish can freely swim through. not only is it an aquatic environment but also a design object itself, as the delicate glass surfaces undulate between air, water, and sand or vegetation.

all images courtesy of haruka misawa

‘transparent islands’

the designer aimed to relate the creatures to their environment and to each other through the dispersed pockets of water. in the piece ‘hilly sands, water hills’ glass bubbles roll through sand dunes, creating a smooth, hilly landscape. the designer describes ‘swimming silently, fish move from one rounded, transparent dome to another, momentarily seeming to disappear and then reappear larger than their actual size due to the refraction of light through the glass.’

‘hilly sands, water hills’

in the piece ‘transparent islands’, a transparent volume just barely peers over the porous growth of duckweed. a glass bubble filled with water shows above the pond horizon, imitating an island. ‘viewing it from above reveals fish swimming within this transparent island, hiding in the shadows of the duckweed, and going back and forth between the two places.‘

the japanese designer explains how ‘looking at it from the side, however, presents a completely different vista. underwater, fish slip deftly around the island’s shape, in and out of its openings, and through the roots of the duckweed. this aquarium has no front to it—new discoveries emerge one after another regardless of which angle you view it from.’

‘the waterscape project is designed not just for viewing fish, but for observing fish ecology. it creates underwater landscapes that represent the potential of aquariums while taking into consideration and keeping in line with the kind of habitat required by creatures that live underwater.’