You can hardly have missed the news: together with MVRDV and Alex Verhaest, we designed an enormous artwork for Floriade Expo 2022. And after all these months of hard work, it’s actually in the making. Our Siobhan Burger paid a visit to the construction site to check out the first mockup. She got all excited about it!

SYMPOIESIS will cover the 40-meter-high façade of Flores, the central tower that is about to be overlooking the festival. Next to that, it turns the tower into an icon for Hortus; the new urban district of Almere. The tangible artwork is made of glass panels to be fixed on the façade, bringing to life a gigantic flowery landscape. The first test panel was put in place two weeks ago.

The first test panel of SYMPOIESIS on the Flores building in Almere.

Unique technique

The material and process used are quite unique, as each piece of the Sympoiesis-puzzle consists of two glass plates with the print in between. We could have never realized this exceptional and technical production without the help (and mental support) of our partners Sorba, Michiel van Iperen and Studio Online. This elaborate collaboration will be giving a magical feel to the façade, that’s for sure!

Only after visiting the construction site last week and seeing the mockup in real life, all parties are able to relax and impatiently await the final result.

Trial and error

It was a bumpy but interesting road, designing and producing this piece of art. Many stakeholders were involved in the realization of the enormous façade. Everything falls into place as both artistic and production visions are incorporated in the mockup. Now that it has officially been approved, we are immensely proud of the result and can’t wait until the Floriade opens its doors in 2022!

More information about the artwork and our collaboration with MVRDV and Alex Verhaest can be found on the www.sympoiesis.nl.