{"id":133809,"date":"2025-10-20T11:48:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T11:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/133809\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T11:48:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T11:48:11","slug":"mad-unveils-breathing-cells-sculpture-at-seoul-biennale-of-architecture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/133809\/","title":{"rendered":"MAD unveils Breathing Cells sculpture at Seoul Biennale of Architecture"},"content":{"rendered":"

Architecture studio MAD<\/a> has designed a “giant mattress” at the Seoul Biennale of Architecture<\/a> that comforts people standing next to it by illuminating and releasing cooling water mist.<\/p>\n

Located at the Songhyeon Green Plaza in Seoul, South Korea<\/a> \u2013 the biennale’s central location \u2013 the artwork is 4.8 metres tall and 2.4 metres wide.<\/p>\n

\"ArtworkBreathing Cells is on show at Songhyeon Green Plaza<\/p>\n

MAD<\/a>‘s design aimed to showcase the studio’s research into the future of facades, while also responding to the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism<\/a>‘s theme, Radically More Human.<\/p>\n

Breathing Cells has a soft pneumatic membrane that was designed to provide comfort to people standing next to it by adjusting its light and temperature using an intelligent control system.<\/p>\n

\"KidsIts light and temperature can be adjusted<\/p>\n

“Breathing Cells seeks to explore the subtle relationship between the individual and the urban environment,” MAD founder Ma Yansong said.<\/p>\n

“Each ‘cell’ represents an independent entity within the city, while the rhythmic interplay of light and mist symbolises the breathing cadence of life and the city itself.”<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Humanise<\/p>\n

Heatherwick reveals twisted Humanise Wall at Seoul Architecture Biennale\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

The sculpture’s control system can be put on standby, but its shape and material “remain soft and inviting, reminiscent of a giant mattress, exuding warmth and approachability”, MAD said.<\/p>\n

As well as the light units, which illuminate the structure’s ‘cells’, Breathing Cells also has a function that sees it release ethereal water mist in hot weather.<\/p>\n

“This explores the potential for architectural skins to interact with their environment, metaphorically suggesting a deeper understanding of ‘humanisation’ in future architecture \u2013 where buildings are not merely functional containers but become sentient, responsive living entities,” said MAD.<\/p>\n

\"BoyThe sculpture can release mist in hot weather<\/p>\n

This year’s Seoul Biennale of Architecture is curated by British designer Thomas Heatherwick<\/a>, who created a twisted Humanise Wall at its centre<\/a> that was designed to start a conversation with the people of Seoul.<\/p>\n

However, the wall was criticised by Seoul creatives who said it displayed a “profound lack of judgment”<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The photography is courtesy of MAD.<\/p>\n

Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism<\/a> takes place from 26 September to 18 November 2025 in Seoul, South Korea. See Dezeen Events Guide<\/a> for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.<\/p>\n

Project credits:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Design team:<\/strong> Huang Juntao, Li Qingzhi, Jiang Yunyao, Wang Houxiang
Lighting technical support:<\/strong> Opple Lighting
Fabrication team:<\/strong> Top Space (China) International Trade Co, Ltd
Structure consultant:<\/strong> Bespoke. Sur-Mesure Engineering Studio<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Architecture studio MAD has designed a “giant mattress” at the Seoul Biennale of Architecture that comforts people standing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133810,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[267],"tags":[365,362,363,364,366,18,117,19,375,17,61092,32500,10357,10358,7267,80105,2428],"class_list":{"0":"post-133809","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-eire","14":"tag-entertainment","15":"tag-ie","16":"tag-installations","17":"tag-ireland","18":"tag-mad","19":"tag-sculptures","20":"tag-sectionall","21":"tag-sectionarchitecture","22":"tag-seoul","23":"tag-seoul-biennale-of-architecture-and-urbanism","24":"tag-south-korea"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133809\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}