guilherme torres mangue groove for swarovski at design miami

architect and designer guilherme torres with his mangue groove for swarovski at design miami
image © designboom

in its sixth consecutive year as the main sponsor of design miami/, swarovski crystal palace commissioned guilherme torres to create ‘mangue groove’, a light and crystal installation which addresses important aquatic conservation efforts surrounding endangered mangrove ecosystems in brazil. the interactive piece, in glittery gold with a digital sunset background, refers to the mathematical structure of a voronoi diagram, in which the space is divided into cells with individual focal points, exploring the balance between nature and science. synthetic tubes of lead-free crystal are linked together by geometric joints lit with LEDs, inviting visitors navigate the installation via overwater pathways made from recycled wood. once a day, at 5 pm, an integrated sound system plays a video and audio display sequence that works together to mimic an amazonian sunset.

design miami/ has been on show december 4 – 8 in miami beach, florida.

visitors to the crystal palace installation can walk on pathways of reclaimed wood
image © designboom

it took 160 hours to build ‘mangue groove’, with 102 knots of reclaimed wood and 432 pounds of crystal
image © designboom

the immersive installation
image © designboom

synthetic tubes of lead-free crystal are linked together by geometric joints lit with LEDs
image © designboom

swarovski crystal palace supports emerging talent within the fields of art, architecture and design. it has been commissioning signature interpretations of light and design through the medium of crystal since 2002. the brand’s CEO nadja swarovski launched the swarovski water school in 1999 in order to teach children about the importance of aquatic conservation, given the importance of water to the crystal-making process. the school’s program is set to expand into brazil in 2014. for more information, swarovski is using tumblr to generate awareness of its crystal palace think tank.

guilherme torres was born in londrina, brazil and graduated from UNIFIL university in 1998. studio guilherme torres was founded in 2001 and moved to sao paulo in 2010.