‘ukigumo – floating clouds’ by mono at the 5th festival of lively architecture in montpellier, france all images courtesy of mono

ukigumo – floating clouds‘ is an art installation by japanese architects fumiaki nagashima and mami maruoka nagashima of mono for the 5th festival of lively architecture in montpellier, france. the event called for 11 teams from all around the globe to transform the old town in to a gallery by creating art pieces for 11 courtyard.

mono’s project is developed around the theme of ‘japanese independent space sense’, which consciously contrasts the western european exhibition site with ukigumo’s japanese sense of space. the clusters of spindly fiber-glass pipes stand out against the stone columns of the courtyard, while the ‘floating cloud’ element of the draped mesh net, balloons and non woven fabric allows the two different worlds to exist on one stage. the floating clouds also serve as a device of connection, a visual motif that has been traditionally used in japanese medieval paintings to tie two different scenes together.

mono at the 5th festival of lively architecture ‘ukigumo’ in the courtyard of hotel griffy

mono at the 5th festival of lively architecture

mono at the 5th festival of lively architecture fiber-glass pipe columns

mono at the 5th festival of lively architecture

mono at the 5th festival of lively architecture clear balloons on polyethylene mesh net

mono at the 5th festival of lively architecture ‘sasa’ lanterns

mono at the 5th festival of lively architecture materiality