In Beeple's work, I sense a kind of resonance. This resonance does not rest on any explicit concept but points to a process of change, the unknown, and perpetual becoming. It arises among individuals full of differences and emotionally connects people, which is what I hope to convey and achieve in my design. The public areas of a commercial center objectively facilitate the gathering of people. The transformation of these commercial public spaces, however, ignites the convergence of perception through art and beauty.
The space is outlined by physical lines, while the integration of digital art constructs abstract symbols with virtual code. These two elements interpenetrate in the renovation of this washroom. People's perception of space is no longer confined to its functional use. Instead, it expands as the fluid digital spectacle diffuses beyond physical boundaries and stretches the imagination.
——Li Xiang
The project is located on the eighth floor of Phase II of Deji Plaza, adjacent to the Deji Art Museum, which demonstrates a keen and forward-looking appreciation of art through its collection and exhibitions of digital art. On the occasion of Beeple's global debut exhibition—the leading figure in the digital art field—the renovation design of this project attempts to establish a dialogue with the site and its cultural ambiance.
Pixels: From Electronic Signals to Physical Entities
Beeple's work situates contemporary issues within the context of future technologies, offering a surreal visual representation of the spirit of the times. His humorous and even absurdist digital language dissolves the seriousness of social issues, making them more accessible and shareable, and thus creating an artistic form that emphasizes interactivity and changeability.
Responding to Beeple's artistic philosophy and characteristics, the designer extracted the basic unit of electronic images—the pixel—and transformed it into an intuitive spatial language. The screens embedded in the walls were decomposed into particle-like dot matrices. Thoughts originating from reality are presented in the form of electronic images. As the images play on the screens, virtual digital signals are transformed into physical entities. Reality, after being interpreted through art, returns to reality once again. At this point, the complete image, due to the design of the screens, is deconstructed into dispersed physical "pixels," forming independent visual units.
It is through this seemingly cyclical yet progressively forward-moving approach that the designer initiates a witty dialogue within the space. In this way, the designer not only responds to Beeple's creative process but also explores the manifestation of digital art in physical space, demonstrating the possibilities of design thinking in cross-media applications.
Humorous “Deconstruction”
This strategy of “deconstruction” both echoes Beeple’s artistic creation and serves as the designer’s spatial annotation on “meme culture.”
Since 2007, Beeple has maintained a daily practice of creating artworks, recording the evolution of the times in a diary-like manner. His first 5,000 works were eventually compiled into the NFT digital art piece titled Everydays. Meanwhile, the contemporary meme culture, represented by “meme images,” has broken away from traditional discourses and expresses itself through decentralized collective creation. The designer recognized the commonalities between these two cultural phenomena and attempted to create a spatial scenario where people find themselves surrounded by a constantly changing digital landscape, reflected infinitely in pixelated screens. This serves as a metaphor for the social condition where individuals are enveloped by fragmented information. The design thus invites people to enter and co-create the space, with their observations and interactions becoming integral parts of it, thereby enriching the space’s connotations and extensions. The designer hopes to offer viewers a perspective that is both familiar and alien, encouraging them to re-examine and experience the digital age in which we live.
Coexistence of the Real and the Virtual: A Journey Through the Digital Universe
At the entrance, the crowd is divided into two directions, with separate visual effects and waiting areas for men and women. This separation of flow density provides a more comfortable experience for users.
Inside the waiting area, the materials used on the floor, walls, and ceiling create a distinct visual depth through varying levels of reflectivity, enhancing the contrast between the real and the virtual. On the walls directly in sight, two types of irregular electronic screens—one in a zigzag shape and the other in a circular shape—form triangles and circles, respectively, through the reflection of silver mirrors within their lines. Outside these lines, low-reflectivity black mirrors are laid to minimize reflection and glare, thereby increasing contrast. The black marble on the floor and the mirror-polished stainless steel on the ceiling further extend the imagery through mutual reflection, creating an infinite replication and expansion of the visual space.
Moving further inward, the light box at the end of the corridor faces the screens in the waiting area, expanding the sense of spatial depth. As people walk between the two ends, they are enveloped in a sensory experience that engages all six surfaces in three dimensions. While immersed in the digital art, they still maintain a dialogue with the real environment. The washbasins and storage counters are integrated into the toilet compartment, concentrating the functional areas and enhancing privacy in a more human-centered approach that considers user experience.
Considering environmental adaptability and visual dynamics, the designer selected two video pieces from Beeple's works for projection. The rich colors and high brightness of these works ensure that the imagery remains vibrant even when divided into particles. In the men's restroom, ANGULAR(loop) enhances visual balance through geometric shapes and symmetry, echoing the design of the irregular screens and mirrors. In the women's restroom, HOMIE(loop) creates a sense of depth through color gradients and light guidance, drawing the viewer's focus to the center.
The future and the present, the real and the virtual, interplay within the viewer's perception. People are enveloped in this environment, experiencing an immersive sensation that transcends traditional physical dimensions through surreal visual illusions. The boundary between the digital world and the real world recedes, allowing consciousness to flow freely between the two realms.
The Daily Integration of Art
The emotional experience that complements the exhibition viewing transforms the washroom into a natural extension of the art display. Instead of avoiding the opposition between the identities of the exhibition hall and the washroom, the designer emphasizes the collision between solemnity and everyday naturalness, creating a modern public art space filled with contradictions and absurdity. Here, the boundaries between high art and popular culture are re-examined and redefined, allowing the reach of art to penetrate into those often-forgotten corners.
The artistic transformation of the washroom is also a humorous “deconstruction” of mainstream perceptions. Appreciating artworks displayed in the gallery is a static experience, where the viewer and the object stand in mutual contemplation. Once the exhibition ends, the experience can only be preserved as a memory. However, when the designer integrates artistic forms and their underlying spirit into everyday spaces, appreciation becomes a dynamic interaction. The space is perpetually open to people, who are constantly engaged in its use through their actions, and art continuously gains new interpretations through this participation.
Deji Plaza's exploration and practice in the field of public art, as well as its interdisciplinary collaboration with artist Beeple, have provided the designer with a free and inspiring creative environment. Transforming abstract data, codes, and electronic elements into components of everyday reality is the designer's response to the future digital landscape. It also attempts to offer the public new perspectives and cognitive challenges in spaces traditionally seen as purely functional.
In Beeple's work, I sense a kind of resonance. This resonance does not rest on any explicit concept but points to a process of change, the unknown, and perpetual becoming. It arises among individuals full of differences and emotionally connects people, which is what I hope to convey and achieve in my design. The public areas of a commercial center objectively facilitate the gathering of people. The transformation of these commercial public spaces, however, ignites the convergence of perception through art and beauty.
The space is outlined by physical lines, while the integration of digital art constructs abstract symbols with virtual code. These two elements interpenetrate in the renovation of this washroom. People's perception of space is no longer confined to its functional use. Instead, it expands as the fluid digital spectacle diffuses beyond physical boundaries and stretches the imagination.
——Li Xiang
The project is located on the eighth floor of Phase II of Deji Plaza, adjacent to the Deji Art Museum, which demonstrates a keen and forward-looking appreciation of art through its collection and exhibitions of digital art. On the occasion of Beeple's global debut exhibition—the leading figure in the digital art field—the renovation design of this project attempts to establish a dialogue with the site and its cultural ambiance.
Pixels: From Electronic Signals to Physical Entities
Beeple's work situates contemporary issues within the context of future technologies, offering a surreal visual representation of the spirit of the times. His humorous and even absurdist digital language dissolves the seriousness of social issues, making them more accessible and shareable, and thus creating an artistic form that emphasizes interactivity and changeability.
Responding to Beeple's artistic philosophy and characteristics, the designer extracted the basic unit of electronic images—the pixel—and transformed it into an intuitive spatial language. The screens embedded in the walls were decomposed into particle-like dot matrices. Thoughts originating from reality are presented in the form of electronic images. As the images play on the screens, virtual digital signals are transformed into physical entities. Reality, after being interpreted through art, returns to reality once again. At this point, the complete image, due to the design of the screens, is deconstructed into dispersed physical "pixels," forming independent visual units.
It is through this seemingly cyclical yet progressively forward-moving approach that the designer initiates a witty dialogue within the space. In this way, the designer not only responds to Beeple's creative process but also explores the manifestation of digital art in physical space, demonstrating the possibilities of design thinking in cross-media applications.
Humorous “Deconstruction”
This strategy of “deconstruction” both echoes Beeple’s artistic creation and serves as the designer’s spatial annotation on “meme culture.”
Since 2007, Beeple has maintained a daily practice of creating artworks, recording the evolution of the times in a diary-like manner. His first 5,000 works were eventually compiled into the NFT digital art piece titled Everydays. Meanwhile, the contemporary meme culture, represented by “meme images,” has broken away from traditional discourses and expresses itself through decentralized collective creation. The designer recognized the commonalities between these two cultural phenomena and attempted to create a spatial scenario where people find themselves surrounded by a constantly changing digital landscape, reflected infinitely in pixelated screens. This serves as a metaphor for the social condition where individuals are enveloped by fragmented information. The design thus invites people to enter and co-create the space, with their observations and interactions becoming integral parts of it, thereby enriching the space’s connotations and extensions. The designer hopes to offer viewers a perspective that is both familiar and alien, encouraging them to re-examine and experience the digital age in which we live.
Coexistence of the Real and the Virtual: A Journey Through the Digital Universe
At the entrance, the crowd is divided into two directions, with separate visual effects and waiting areas for men and women. This separation of flow density provides a more comfortable experience for users.
Inside the waiting area, the materials used on the floor, walls, and ceiling create a distinct visual depth through varying levels of reflectivity, enhancing the contrast between the real and the virtual. On the walls directly in sight, two types of irregular electronic screens—one in a zigzag shape and the other in a circular shape—form triangles and circles, respectively, through the reflection of silver mirrors within their lines. Outside these lines, low-reflectivity black mirrors are laid to minimize reflection and glare, thereby increasing contrast. The black marble on the floor and the mirror-polished stainless steel on the ceiling further extend the imagery through mutual reflection, creating an infinite replication and expansion of the visual space.
Moving further inward, the light box at the end of the corridor faces the screens in the waiting area, expanding the sense of spatial depth. As people walk between the two ends, they are enveloped in a sensory experience that engages all six surfaces in three dimensions. While immersed in the digital art, they still maintain a dialogue with the real environment. The washbasins and storage counters are integrated into the toilet compartment, concentrating the functional areas and enhancing privacy in a more human-centered approach that considers user experience.
Considering environmental adaptability and visual dynamics, the designer selected two video pieces from Beeple's works for projection. The rich colors and high brightness of these works ensure that the imagery remains vibrant even when divided into particles. In the men's restroom, ANGULAR(loop) enhances visual balance through geometric shapes and symmetry, echoing the design of the irregular screens and mirrors. In the women's restroom, HOMIE(loop) creates a sense of depth through color gradients and light guidance, drawing the viewer's focus to the center.
The future and the present, the real and the virtual, interplay within the viewer's perception. People are enveloped in this environment, experiencing an immersive sensation that transcends traditional physical dimensions through surreal visual illusions. The boundary between the digital world and the real world recedes, allowing consciousness to flow freely between the two realms.
The Daily Integration of Art
The emotional experience that complements the exhibition viewing transforms the washroom into a natural extension of the art display. Instead of avoiding the opposition between the identities of the exhibition hall and the washroom, the designer emphasizes the collision between solemnity and everyday naturalness, creating a modern public art space filled with contradictions and absurdity. Here, the boundaries between high art and popular culture are re-examined and redefined, allowing the reach of art to penetrate into those often-forgotten corners.
The artistic transformation of the washroom is also a humorous “deconstruction” of mainstream perceptions. Appreciating artworks displayed in the gallery is a static experience, where the viewer and the object stand in mutual contemplation. Once the exhibition ends, the experience can only be preserved as a memory. However, when the designer integrates artistic forms and their underlying spirit into everyday spaces, appreciation becomes a dynamic interaction. The space is perpetually open to people, who are constantly engaged in its use through their actions, and art continuously gains new interpretations through this participation.
Deji Plaza's exploration and practice in the field of public art, as well as its interdisciplinary collaboration with artist Beeple, have provided the designer with a free and inspiring creative environment. Transforming abstract data, codes, and electronic elements into components of everyday reality is the designer's response to the future digital landscape. It also attempts to offer the public new perspectives and cognitive challenges in spaces traditionally seen as purely functional.
