white stainless-steel cylinders form coral-like swing installation on chinese coast

Twelve Cylinders Form a Coral-Inspired Coastal Installation

Composed of twelve oversized white cylinders, Coral is a swing installation that transforms the coastline of Yantai, China, into an inhabitable underwater world. The work, created by XBTW Office, stands at the northwest corner of West Park at Longfor Puti peninsula. Facing tidal flats and the sea, the site is shaped by the daily rhythm of tides, sea breeze, and sunsets, which together form its most distinctive landscape. Visitors wander between shifting frames of sea and sky or swing toward the sunset, experiencing the tides and sea breeze through movement. The form of the installation is inspired by the repetition and aggregation of similar units found in coral colonies. The design uses twelve white stainless-steel cylinders as basic units, arranged into two groups above and below. A thin horizontal roof plane passes through the composition, with two west-facing swings suspended beneath it. The cylinders, positioned at different heights and orientations, overlap and shift against one another, creating an inhabitable space for people to enter, move through, and pause.

Perforated Cylinders Frame the Coast and Shift with the Light

Viewed from a distance, the white forms emerge along the open coastline as an unfamiliar presence, resembling a group of marine organisms. As visitors approach, the spaces between the cylinders gradually reveal fragments of tidal flats, sea, and sky, transforming the continuous landscape into a series of constantly changing frames. Upon entering the installation, the relationship between body and scale begins to shift. The oversized cylinders surround the body, making the familiar coastline temporarily feel unfamiliar, as if entering an underwater world. Visitors can move through the structure or sit on the west-facing swings, experiencing the sea breeze, tides, and sunset through gentle movement.

The perforated patterns on the cylinders are inspired by variations in the density of deep-sea fish schools. Each cylinder contains approximately 2,000 to 4,000 perforations of different sizes, ranging from 4 to 25 millimeters in diameter. Variations in the density and scale of the openings create a gradient texture on the white stainless-steel surfaces, evoking the gathering and dispersal of fish schools. Among these openings, a small number of larger perforations take the forms of marine creatures, including starfish, octopuses, and seashells, adding another layer of detail to the surface. After sunset, light emerges through the perforations, transforming the previously quiet white forms into another state. The installation by creative practice XBTW Office gradually appears like a group of slowly breathing marine organisms.

project info:

name: Among the Corals: A Seaside Swing Installation
designer: XBTW Office

lead designers: Boxia Wang, Teng Xing

clients: Longfor Group Shandong

engineer: Shanghai Leqiu Playground Equipment Co., Ltd.

general contractor: Liaoning Lumei Yanyuan Construction Engineering Co., Ltd.

photographers: Zhu Yumeng | @yumeng_zhu_coppakstudio, DONG Image

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