Just when you think you've seen it all, you come across something like this. Pulsate is a new, mind-boggling installation that shows you just what happens when you lay ordinary porcelain tiles into interesting geometric patterns. When Capitol Designer Studio, a UK tile company, commissioned architects Lily Jencks and Nathanael Dorent to create a pop-up installation to show the public just what's possible with tile, they could never have imagined they duo would create something as trippy as this.
The main idea, inspired by Op Art and Gestalt psychology, is to twist people's perception while drawing people into the space. The architects decided that they'd create an exciting pattern by going from dark to light to back to dark in a gradient, “like a pulsating wave.” As Dorent states, “We decided to use one system of tiles in one size and four colors. It's just a simple herringbone pattern, but we've applied it in three dimensions, to create something really eye popping.”
The most interesting fact is that, since the pattern and structure are so tightly interrelated, there was no room for error. If the structure changed even one millimeter, the pattern wouldn't work and the perception that the room was pulsating would be off.
The mind-boggling space is designed to be a cultural hub and is open to the public from March 21 till November 27, 2013. Capitol Designer Studio will be running a series of creative events there throughout the year. You can learn more about the crazy space by watching the video, below.
Not since French artist Serge Salat's Beyond Infinity have we seen a room this great. (If you can't get enough of illusions, check out our top 10 from 2012, here.)
Capitol Designer Studio's website
Photo credit: Hufton + Crow
