WOW!HOUSE: WHERE DESIGN DREAMS TAKE SHAPE

The WOW!House entrance installation at Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, completed in 2024, was part of an annual tradition where we have been setting up the WOW!House since 2022. Each year, the installation creates a bold and memorable introduction for visitors. As you step into the space, the installation delivers a moment of surprise, transforming the area into a visually captivating and immersive experience. The installation draws inspiration from traditional mandalas, which are circular geometric designs often used in meditation, but here they represent much more than aesthetics. They serve as a metaphor for the circular economy — a core principle in our design approach.

At the heart of this project is our commitment to sustainability and the circular economy. Each mandala is 3D printed using PLA bioplastic, an eco-friendly material made from fermented sugar and wood. This bioplastic is 80% more carbon efficient than traditional plastics and aligns perfectly with our cradle-to-cradle design philosophy, ensuring that every material used can be recycled and repurposed. This philosophy reflects our broader mission of reducing waste, lowering carbon footprints, and creating designs that are not only beautiful but responsible.

Delivered as part of the prestigious 2024 WOW!House event, the installation received strong acclaim from both visitors and industry professionals alike. It served as a demonstration of how digital craft, sustainable materials, and cutting-edge design can come together to create impactful, future-forward solutions. Furthermore, this project is just a glimpse into a wider range of modular, reconfigurable designs that we will soon be launching with Fab.Pub.

Modularity is another key element of the design. The mandalas were not only designed for this specific space but are also reconfigurable and reusable for future installations. With easy assembly and disassembly in mind, the installation can be transformed and adapted to different environments, offering flexibility for future use. We’ve also integrated Augmented Reality (AR) tools into the project, allowing visitors to explore various design configurations digitally, ensuring a seamless interaction between the virtual and physical worlds.

Mandalas symbolise cyclical journeys, reflecting disappearance, reappearance, and transformation. We’ve adopted this concept to highlight the circular economy, embedding sustainability into every layer of our design. The mandalas were generated parametrically and 3D printed using PLA bioplastic, making them eco-friendly and reflective of modern, digital craftsmanship.

Designed as a modular and reconfigurable solution, the installation can be adapted to different spaces and reassembled for future use. Visitors were able to interact with the design using Augmented Reality tools, allowing them to visualise multiple configurations before final assembly.