TV producer Danielle Chang worked with architecture studio Gluckman Tang and artist Warren King to create a snake installation made of CNC-cut aluminium panels at Santiago Calatrava’s Oculus to mark the Lunar New Year.
Infinite Harmony winds 45 metres (150 feet) through the floor of the ribbed World Trade Centre station and is made of a series of panels reaching one to two metres (four to seven feet) high.
Made of CNC-cut aluminium panels, the installation is composed of rectangular modules linked together to create an undulating serpentine shape. It rises and falls along its length, tapering towards the tail.
Passerby can scan a corresponding QR code, allowing them to control an animated snake overlay on the installation.
The piece celebrates the Year of the Snake based on the Chinese lunisolar calendar and its corresponding twelve zodiac symbols. According to NBC News, the Year of the Snake will usher in “transformation” and “new beginnings”.
“I created Infinite Harmony as an offering for the Year of the Snake with the hope that all of us can tap into the snake’s transformative and rejuvenating energy,” said Danielle Chang. “The Lunar New Year is not just an Asian holiday, it is for everyone.”
According to New York architecture studio Gluckman Tang, the snake was also “reimagined as an infinite Möbius strip” – a nod to themes of growth and renewal.
Founder of the Asian cultural and culinary institution Luckyrice, Chang conceptualized the piece. Sculpture artist Warren King then crafted a series of paper models, which Richard Gluckman and Andrew Weigand of Gluckman Tang digitally translated into 220 modular panels.
“The sculpture is composed of 66 two-foot (0.6-metre) sections, each built from three meticulously folded pieces, creating a dynamic and intricate faceted form that seems to flow endlessly,” said the studio.
The aluminium pieces were produced and CNC-cut at Brooklyn fabricator NewProject.
It also pays homage to the surrounding interior of the Oculus designed by Spanish-Swiss architect Santiago Calatrava, according to the team. The winged structure serves as a major transportation hub for New York City and is located on the grounds of the World Trade Center.
The project is one of the “largest installations ever” to be located in the station, according to its creators.
To mark the Year of the Snake, Dezeen rounded up twelve upcoming Chinese projects slated to be completed this year including a hilly sports complex by MAD architects.
The photography is by Jesper Haynes
Infinite Harmony will be on show from 28 January to 12 February 2025 at the Oculus. See Dezeen Events Guide for more architecture and design events around the world.
Project credits:
Concept / Producer: Danielle Chang
Architects: Richard Gluckman and Andrew Weigand
Artist: Warren King
Fabrication: New Project
Structural Engineer: Nat Oppenheimer and Takuma Yonebayashi, TY Lin
Creative Director: Claudia Wu
Art Director: Roy Wu
Digital Art: Rebecca Peng
