Island Totem
Description
Island Totem is Island Works’ latest installation proposal, conceived as a memorial and speculative monument. Referencing the archetype of the commemorative column, the work reinterprets this geometry as a vessel of wonder and layered narratives. At its core, a suspended crystallised water tank is animated by an Arduino-programmed light source, casting shifting, wave-like shadows across the floor. The light’s programmed movements derive from an AI-assisted transformation of Island Works’ research and fieldwork across four coastal sites of Hong Kong—Ap Chau, North Point, Cape D’Aguilar, and —each representing a distinct seascape and ecological character. This transformative workflow fuses field documentation with artistic expression, materialising research through movement, light, and form. Visitors encounter a multisensory environment where immersive projections intersect with soundscapes developed from on-site recordings. The column ultimately situates island landscape studies within an architectural discourse, reflecting on land use, coastal histories, and material cultures, while mediating the spatial tensions between urban and peripheral terrains.
Biography
Island Works is a Hong Kong–based research and design collective co-founded by architects Chi and Leroy. The practice is driven by a sustained inquiry into the city’s 200+ surrounding islands—landscapes often overlooked within the dominant narrative of dense urbanisation yet integral to Hong Kong’s geographical and cultural identity.
Working through a cyclical methodology of discover, document, design, Island Works approaches islands as both archival subjects and speculative grounds. Research and first-hand digital documentation underpin an evolving repository that seeks to preserve the essence of each island.
This research extends into a design language that regards islands not only as geological phenomena but also as cultural and infrastructural artefacts shaped by memory, time, and imagination. Through this lens, Island Works advances speculative futures, translating its findings into interventions such as site-specific installations that reframe islands as sites of design imagination.
Materials
Aluminum , Acrylic, Arduino System, Projector System, LED Screen
Organisation
Island Works
Acknowledgments
Design Trust