BEHIND TCA DESIGN
LIGHTING
Between Sky and Stillness Sculpture for a Restaurant in Hong Kong
Amid the towering, bustling architecture of Hong Kong, the lofty main hall of a restaurant opens like a silent vessel – a space for retreat, contemplation, and the encounter with flavor, stillness, and form. From the ceiling hangs a sculpture: a floating structure composed of origami birds, gently moving in the air currents as if breathing. This installation is not mere decoration – it is a spatial gesture, an invitation to experience the moment.
The birds, folded in the art of origami, reflect the depth of Japanese aesthetics, where simplicity does not mean emptiness, but richness. Each fold is a conscious act, each form an expression of calm and concentration. In Zen philosophy, emptiness is not a lack, but openness – and so this sculpture does not enclose, but opens up space. It defines not through mass, but through presence.
The structure itself is light, almost immaterial – crafted from thin stainless or translucent composite paper materials. Its lightness is not only visual but functional: the elements can be transported flat, unfolded on site, and assembled without heavy machinery. Within this design lives the principle of ma – the significance of the in-between. It is not only the object that speaks, but what happens in between.
The culinary experience taking place below is not dominated, but supported by the structure. The sculpture draws the eye upward, lets it rest – like a moment of silent meditation between courses. In its fragility lies its strength: it demands respect, mindfulness, presence.
A thoughtful design here means more than efficiency – it means harmony. With the place, with the people, with the material. The assembly takes place like a ritual, slow, deliberate. The production does not strive for perfection in an industrial sense, but for harmony – shibui, the quiet, unobtrusive beauty.
Thus, a structure becomes a symbol. A space becomes an experience. And a visit becomes a lasting impression – not only through taste, but through spirit. Zen teaches: do less, but do it completely. This design follows precisely that path.
