Nestled in northern Iowa, Mason City is, perhaps unexpectedly, a beacon of cultural heritage. It’s home to the Historic Park Inn, the world’s last remaining hotel designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It boasts an indelible collection of Prairie School architecture, and it was the inspiration behind Meredith Willson’s iconic stage musical The Music Man, whose characters were based on people he grew up with in the city. For artists Serge Beaulieu and Yelena Filipchuk, the duo behind the Los Angeles-based studio HYBYCOZO, this rich legacy was essential to their newest project in Mason City.
Situated at the gateway to the new Riverwalk recreation area, Harmony in Light offers an abstract yet poignant representation of the musical and architectural forms that have historically shaped Mason City. The installation consists of 20 stainless steel cylinders that gracefully rise into the air, their confident, chiseled profiles mimicking the “strong horizontal lines” characteristic of the Prairie School style, per Beaulieu and Filipchuk. Each tower’s golden facade is carved with instrumental sound waves that, at night, cast hypnotic, luminescent patterns across the ground below.
“We combined [Prairie School] design principles with an abstracted interpretation of musical forms, sketching and digitally modeling how light and shadow would move across the surfaces,” the HYBYCOZO duo tells My Modern Met. “The final design balances geometry and fluidity, with perforated patterns that glow from within, creating a visual rhythm that feels musical in itself.”
That sense of “rhythm” isn’t merely visual—it’s also embodied. Both the structure and conceit of the sculpture demands engagement, encouraging viewers to circle around each pillar so as to fully experience how the light evolves depending on position.
“Harmony of Light is oriented and scaled to create an immersive landmark, with its light patterns shifting as people move around it, mirroring the way music changes with perspective and motion,” Beaulieu and Filipchuk explain.
The soft, quiet atmosphere conjured by Harmony in Light is also no mistake, serving as yet another reminder of Mason City’s deep musical history.
“The warm glow at night was chosen to resonate with the welcoming character of the city and to evoke the intimacy of a musical performance,” the artists say.
As for the installation’s purpose, especially given its permanence, HYBYCOZO hopes it can inspire a “sense of connection” to the city’s cultural fabric.
“Ultimately, we want Harmony in Light to inspire a moment of shared wonder—a reminder of how art, architecture, and music can harmonize to create beauty that belongs to everyone,” the duo conclude.
To learn more about Harmony in Light, visit HYBYCOZO’s website and follow the pair on Instagram.
Los Angeles-based design studio HYBYCOZO has created Harmony in Light to celebrate Mason City’s rich cultural, architectural, and musical heritage.
HYBYCOZO’s Harmony in Light echoes the architecture of the Prairie School in its structure and musical sound waves in its patterns.
Harmony in Light’s patterns emit a soft light when it’s dark, casting intricate, glowing webs across the ground that encourage visitors to circle around the sculpture.
