As a compliment to the airy, light filled atrium space of HongKong’s premier shopping Center, the Landmark, Ballistic Architecture Machine (BAM) has envisioned a set of eight revolving suspended sculptures. These seemingly lighter-than-air flower structures rotate slowly above the active sounds of the nearby Landmark Café, dancing in a synchronized display. Visitors to the atrium walk under the giant structures, which are constructed similarly to lightweight lanterns, with brightly colored paper ‘petals’ rotating peacefully above the humming din of the mall atrium.

The flower petals are designed with two-sided color application, so as they revolve past your line of site they create a mesmerizing optical trick—the colors on the approaching petals suddenly shift into the color of the receding petals. This mysterious color transformation in the form of the flower evokes many natural associations: the changing colors of flora, the cyclical nature of the seasons, and perhaps even an awareness of the past and the future.

Allison Dailey, BAM’s co-founder describes the design idea “With Chinese New Year illustrating the coming cycle of the year, and the repetition of the zodiac cycle, we want the suspended flower sculptures to represent this mystery and beauty in their revolution.” The BAM team designed the flowers based on the radial geometry of flora in x-ray images. Designers then translated the sectional and structural information into computer models which were then cut into a set of 36 radial sections. The sections are then coated on two sides with colors and installed on the rotating core. A total of five sites within the Landmark Mall, including four free-standing versions, showcase the sculptures.

The moving flower sculptures are accompanied by floating dishes of fresh-cut real flowers, celebrating through their scent and colors the coming of the warmer spring months. Eleven boat-like vases literally float, bobbing around the large pool of the Landmark Atrium fountain. These fresh-cut flowers invite comparison from the viewer as these amazing moving technical creations are directly inspired by the radial geometries of flowers.