ryo yamada's site-specific timber installation visualizes future sea level at summerhall arts

RYO YAMADA’S ART INSTALLATION REFLECTS LONG-TERM CLIMATE IMPACT

Ryo Yamada’s Zero Meter Above Sea Level 20000 is a site-specific installation situated in the War Memorial Gallery at Summerhall Arts, Edinburgh. The work models the projected sea level in this specific location 19,980 years into the future, assuming a continued trajectory of global sea-level rise.

The installation is based on the current elevation of Summerhall, approximately 76 meters above present sea level. With ongoing climate-induced sea-level rise, currently estimated at approximately 0.5 meters globally over the next century, the piece extrapolates this trend to visualize a time when the sea may reach the current elevation of the gallery site.

all images courtesy of Ryo Yamada

Zero Meter Above Sea Level 20000 uses timber and non-woven fiber

Constructed over 33 days, the installation occupies a footprint of 4.2 meters by 4.2 meters within the 7-meter-wide by 6-meter-deep gallery. The ceiling height of the work is set at 2.17 meters, referencing a calculated sea-level height relative to the gallery floor, which itself sits 1.35 meters above the base elevation point of 76 meters.

Designer Ryo Yamada’s installation uses slender 21mm x 21mm timber elements, each manually cut by the artist. Despite their fine dimensions, the frame is structurally stabilized through precise interconnections, forming a unified, monolithic volume. The skeletal timber structure supports a surface of non-woven fiber, which diffuses light to evoke the visual and atmospheric quality of a future sea surface.

projected sea level 19,980 years from now, modeled in timber and light

Zero Meter Above Sea Level 20000 situates the future sea at gallery height

timber frame marks a speculative ocean surface in central Edinburgh

extrapolated sea-level rise visualized through architectural precision

a 2.17-meter-high structure based on sea-level data and site measurements

constructed over 33 days using manually cut 21mm x 21mm timber

light-filtering fiber evokes the visual tone of a subaqueous environment

delicate yet stable frame forms a monolithic volume through joint precision

ceiling height represents future sea level within Summerhall Arts Gallery

project info:

name: Zero Meter Above Sea Level 20000
designer: Ryo Yamada

location: Edinburgh, Scotland

venue: Summerhall Arts ‘War Memorial Gallery’

dates: June 26th – July 6th, 2025

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom