Department of Cultural Affairs

By Dory Chung
 
After two phases of selection, Whyixd beat 41 competitors when their entry “The Membrane” won the best design for the 7th “X-site Plan.” The theme of this year’s design competition was “X-Reality”. The competing projects had to express how the X-Reference process was used in their design. The process refers to the continuous interactions between design units and the totality, virtual and real, internal space and external environment, static and dynamic, clarity and ambiguity, temporary and permanent.
 
These dichotomies interact with each other and create new design concepts. There is no single answer, and there is no repeatable experience. The purpose of the plan is to show all the interactions between the material and the non-material from all perspectives, and to create a new sense of space, new materials, and new topics.
 

Photo by Whyixd
Sketch #1 of “The Membrane”.

The jury for the competition was made up of architects and professional artists. They judged “The Membrane” as very artistic and very meaningful. The project used a large number of polarizers to create illusions as their visitors try to imagine it with logic and science.
 
Polarizers are optical filters that let light waves of a specific polarization pass through, but blocks light waves of other polarizations. The multiple layers made by polarizers, and the partially covered spaces form the sense of mystery between the virtual and the real. It’s an experiment involving people, space, and material.
 

Photo by Whyixd
Sketch #2 of “The Membrane”.

Whyixd is a cross-field art installation design team from Taiwan. Their members come from art, architecture, design, engineering, and mechanical fields. They create different kinds of surprises and help people enhance their imagination in daily life. Their expertise at combining contemporary art with architecture won favor with the jury.
 
“X-site Plan” is funded by the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, which allowed the use of its outdoor plaza for participants to express their creativity. Since it started in 2014, the design competition has attracted many new architecture companies and design studios to join.
 
Some cross-field teams have also submitted their entries. The plan has become an important platform for experimental architectural and cross-field creativity. Collaborative projects came from architecture design, interior design, structural engineering, experimental materials, new media, interactive devices, visual arts, lighting design, theater design, landscape architecture, art curating, historical artifact reconstruction, and school projects.