Milkywave by
Aidia Studio

Beijing Design Week: A constellation of illuminated ceramic yoghurt pots hangs in the stairwell of a former bicycle factory in an installation by designers Aidia Studio for Beijing Design Week.

“Milkywave reflects on the practice of city-making through the objects that populate the collective memory,” say the designers, explaining how the translucent jars form “a quintessential part of the hutong’s DNA” and can be found in every corner shop, underground station and local square.

Each translucent jar was fitted with a small light bulb and hung upside-down to create a glowing pendant lamp, then 1664 of them were suspended in a wave that forms a continuous loop around the staircase.

“With Milkywave we celebrate the re-use of mass produced objects as core components for the design of new systems and configurations,” Aidia Studio explains.

Visitors walk underneath and through the installation as they climb the stairs of the factory, which is situated among the narrow alleys of an ancient hutong neighbourhood called Dashilar.

A number of projects and pop-ups shops have been set up in Dashilar for the second annual design week to help promote regeneration in the area.

Aidia Studio is a platform for experimental design in architecture, urbanism, photography and other creative disciplines, founded by Rolando Rodriguez-Leal and Natalia Wrzask.

The studio has a presence in Beijing, London and Mexico City.

For this installation they collaborated with He You.

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