The Glacier Project translates frozen landscapes into urban artwork
Developed by Dayuan Design in collaboration with ocean conservation non-profit NOC, the Glacier Project is a sustainable report and spatially installation which examines the relationship between glaciers, oceanscities and human activity. The work is translated under the theme Resonance of the Extremes climate change from a distant environmental condition to a spatial and sensory experience that can be encountered within of Shanghai urban environment.
Rather than relying solely on data or visual representation, the installation gives physical form to the interconnected systems of glaciers, oceans and cities. The exhibition unfolds on multiple scales, starting with the outdoor installation Parallel Projections – Glacier Project and continuing with film, soundartifacts and the Flowing Glacier tabletop installation. Together, these elements take the subject from the urban landscape to the exhibition environment and, ultimately, to everyday experience.
The work is based on an understanding of design as a system that extends beyond objects or visual expression to include material choices, spatial organization, environmental relationships and long-term public engagement. Developed in response to growing public awareness of climate change, the installation addresses the distance that often exists between environmental information and lived experience. Glaciers remain widely represented through images and data, yet are rarely encountered directly. The project proposes spatial planning as a means to make these distant phenomena physically accessible.
aerial views of the Glacier Project on day | all images by © XUEQING
Nine floating volumes reinterpret the geometry of icebergs
View from the square, the outdoor installation by Dayuan Design Studio consists of nine floating geometric forms arranged as a fragmented glacial landscape. Their multifaceted geometry refers to the visible and submerged parts of an iceberg, translating this dual status into architectural volumes. Repeated elements suggest a larger glacial system rather than individual objects, emphasizing the interconnected and changing nature of polar environments.
Visitors move through the installation and interact with suspended components located below each form. If you pull these elements, the geometric volumes above contract, fold and shift, creating an immediate mechanical response without digital interfaces or screens. Through this physical interaction, the installation creates a tangible connection between human action and environmental change, turning observation into participation.
Floating ice geometries create an urban ice field that visitors can walk on
Rain, reflection and light activate the glacier installation
The choice of material reflects the environmental objectives of the project. The installation is built as a modular system designed for disassembly, transport and reuse. Its main components include recycled metal, disposable waterproof fabric, mirrored stainless steel and a lightweight structural frame. The triangular perforations within the metal mesh refer to the pores, fractures and receding edges formed through melting ice. Their gradual increase in size from top to bottom allows for greater light transmission while visually shifting the forms from stability to fragility. White membrane surfaces maintain the appearance of floating ice, while changing daylight, air movement and visitor activity constantly change shadows and reflections.
Environmental conditions also become part of the installation. Rainwater is directed through openings in the structure and allowed to fall naturally onto metal surfaces before draining through perforations in the floor. The resulting sound, along with changing reflections on wet surfaces, integrates weather into the spatial experience and links the installation to wider climate and hydrological cycles.
translucent membranes and metal mesh convey the lightness, intensity and fragility of the glacier
Dayuan Design turns glaciers into a tabletop sculptural object
Flowing Glacier, developed from the larger installation, translates the work into a tabletop object intended for closer and repeated observation. The work uses reverse flow incense as its central medium, allowing smoke to slowly descend through a translucent glacial form in response to airflow, temperature and density. The movement is reminiscent of cold air descending through valleys or meltwater flowing through crevasses, making the irreversible passage of time and the retreat of glaciers palpable through a small-scale, continuous event.
The sculptural element is produced using liuli, a traditional Chinese glassmaking technique recognized as intangible cultural heritage. Formed through heat and then solidified, the material introduces qualities of transparency, light and permanence that contrast with the coldness and vulnerability of the glacier. The project combines contemporary environmental themes with traditional craft, extending sustainability beyond the reuse of materials to include cultural continuity.
visitor interaction with the glacier installation, day and night
Journey through glacial landscapes and climate change
The exhibition series, also developed by Dayuan Design with NOC, translates research on glaciers, oceans and climate change into an immersive spatial narrative. The outdoor installation establishes the initial point of contact, while the exhibition volume guides visitors through a series of spaces organized by film, artefacts, sound and installation. An understated architectural language of deep blue volumes, horizontal lines and carefully regulated circulation references the sea, glacial layers and cold light while directing movement within the exhibition. Organized as a one-way street, the exhibition evolves through four thematic chapters: Meeting, Remaining, Listening and Resonance. Together, these sections move from distant observation to sensory engagement and reflection.
Encounter examines perception through framed openings that align views of the outdoor installation with the surrounding city, suggesting continuity between urban environments and natural systems. Remains presents artifacts, photographs, manuscripts, hunting tools and clothing from polar communities, linking climate change to lived experience and cultural memory. Listening introduces an acoustically isolated space where recordings of glaciers, meltwater, marine life and polar environments replace the sounds of the city. Resonance concludes the exhibition by examining the interdependence of glaciers, oceans and everyday life, encouraging visitors to consider their own relationship with wider environmental systems.
Throughout the public installation, exhibition and tabletop object, the Glacier Project gradually reduces the perceived distance between glaciers and contemporary urban life. The project positions sustainability as an integrated design methodology that includes spatial strategy, material selection, structural systems, cultural continuity and public participation. Through temporary architectural intervention, he explores how design can create lasting awareness by connecting individual actions to larger environmental processes.
