playfool’s game installation at V&A puts you in the role of data center cleaner
the server interactive game installation uses a playful cleaning routine to highlight the often-overlooked labor of maintaining digital infrastructure and cultural collections.
real data center vacuum turns server maintenance into a game
The Server is an interactive game installation by art-design duo Playfool that invites visitors to take on the role of a data center cleaner. Commissioned by the V&A Museum through its Emerging Designer Commission, the work uses a real data center vacuum as a controller, allowing players to remove digital dust from a sculptural server.
The installation draws parallels between the maintenance of data centers and the conservation of museum collections. Although data centers are highly automated, cleaning remains a manual task essential to their operation. Similarly, museum objects require ongoing care long after their creation. Through a playful sequence of movements, The Server makes this often-overlooked labor visible and examines the human work that sustains digital infrastructure.
An interactive game reframes cleaning as an ongoing act of care
Referencing Mierle Laderman Ukeles’ practice of maintenance art, the project frames cleaning as an ongoing process shaped by changing conditions and repeated actions. It invites visitors to consider the physical labor behind technological progress, as well as the relationship between people, machines, and their environments.
Developed by creative duo Playfool, Daniel Coppen (UK/SG) and Saki Maruyama (JP), for the V&A Museum Emerging Designer Commission, The Server is on view at the V&A in South Kensington, London, through October 18th, 2026.
project info:
name: The Server
designer: Playfool | @studioplayfool
lead designers: Daniel Coppen, Saki Maruyama
sound designer: Matteo Bandi
fabrication: Art & Assembly
videographer: Nico Lejtreger
commission: V&A Museum, Emerging Designer Commission
curator: Carrie Chan
producer: Katya Spiers
special thanks: Ella-Marie Maude and Johanna Puisto from the V&A Conservation Department
designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. See more project submissions from our readers here.
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