Sprawling out in a radial growth pattern, a bench in Korea seems to grow organically, stretching and stretching to fill a lawn in a public park. Designed by Yong Ju Lee for the Hangang Art Competition, “Root Bench” is technically not just one bench, but a network of dozens of them seemingly emerging from the grass. Measuring 30 meters in diameter (about 98 feet), the bench is part seating, part meditative walkway that elevates you above the ground in some areas and brings you back down in others.

The designer integrated three different heights of platforms into the massive public sculpture: chairs sized for children and adults, and tables. Yong used a computer algorithm to generate the the dynamic form, including its three-dimensional qualities. Made of a metal frame with concrete footings and wooden decking on top, “Root Bench” aims to provide “visual stimulus” and “spatial connectivity” that blurs the boundary between the natural and the artificial. It looks especially cool when illuminated from underneath at night.

“To articulate spreading-out branch intensively, reaction-diffusion system is applied to design process,” says Yong. “This mathematical model describes the change in space and time of the concentration of one or more chemical substances: local chemical reactions in which the substances are transformed into each other, and diffusion which causes the substances to spread out over a surface in space. Through the algorithm from it, overall radial form is generated with the foreground (installation) merging into its background (grass).”

Looking like an oversized bird’s nest, this cozy pavilion is not quite as organic as it seems, its flowing walls made out of strands of 100% recyclable high-density polyethylene (HDPE.) Designed by Dutch architect Ben van Berkel of UNStudio for the pavilion series Revolution Precrafted, the ‘Ellipsicoon’ features a sinuous design created using 3D modeling computer programs, but its strands are hand-woven by traditional craftspeople. Its alternately raised and sunken surfaces offer places to sit or lounge, while the roof provides shade and openings let in a little sunlight.

“I have long been interested in exploring spaces which extend function to replace the reality of the everyday with the potential for more nuanced, reflective experiences,” says van Berkel. “The Ellipsicoon offers a place of temporary disengagement, where the practicalities, duties and interruptions of daily life can momentarily fade and the imagination can take over.”

The Revolution Precrafted series of transportable pavilions features designs by some of the world’s most renowned architects, including Zaha Hadid, Daniel Libeskind, Sou Fujimoto and Kengo Kuma. They see the pavilions as a new way of collecting and experiencing art, immersing oneself in intimate designer spaces. The project aims to democratize high design by making it more accessible to the public.

Resin is often used creatively to fill in the gaps wooden shapes, but these vases take the opposite approach and employ sliced logs with waned edges as a framing device rather than making it the primary focus of the work.

Los Angeles artist Scott Slagerman worked with Jim Fishman on this Wood & Glass collection, in which each vase is blown into a wooden void.

Naturally, each creation requires careful planning and execution, involving hot materials coming in contact with flammable ones. Some of the works are clear, but reds, purples, greens and oranges playfully compliment and contrast with the woods employed as well, ebbing and flowing as hues do in nature.

Slagerman “has always been captivated by glass – how it is transformed from a fragile, yet unyielding solid state to molten fluidity and back again; and how this mutable substance, through a process that is both delicate and dangerous, can create objects both essential and esoteric.”

He is “fascinated by the role that glass plays in architecture, as well as in the everyday objects that we find around us.” Glassblowing is a an art of speed and dexterity, all the more so when working with something that could catch fire and itself be reshaped by the glass being blown.

Microorganisms in this Living Light project convert chemical energy from photosynthetic processes into electric current, making these lamps perfect for off-grid and other green, cost-reducing applications.

Dutch designer Ermi van Oers envisions this approach working at scale and used to power smart cities, starting with things like street lamps but eventually providing energy for other applications as well. Plans are already in place with Rotterndam to illuminate a city park unique this process and technology.

“The potential is huge,” the designer says. “Street lights could be connected to trees. Forests could become power plants. Rice fields in Indonesia could produce food and electricity for the local population.”

As photosynthesis takes place, organic compounds are released, which are in turn broken down by bacteria through a microbial fuel cell, which mimics natural processes but generates electrons that can be used to power LEDs. The project was deubted at Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven, with small and interactive versions that illuminated to the touch.

“I hope we come to a point where every plant pot is provided with this technology, and we don’t know any better than that plants are part of our energy system,”says van Oers. “Nature will get a higher economical value and we will start making more green places so that biodiversity can flourish, while lowering greenhouse gas emissions at the same time.”

A new sports hall in Thailand highlights the aesthetic power and physical strength of bamboo, a flexible and fast-growing natural material. In total, more carbon is captured in the bamboo than was used to treat, transport and use it for construction, rendering its carbon footprint neutral.

Located at the Panyaden International School in the Chiang Mai province, the new building was designed by Chiangmai Life Architects, a firm specializing in natural materials like bamboo and rammed earth.

The symbolic design was inspired by the lotus, an important Buddhist and Thai symbol. Its natural materials tie it to scenic surroundings while open sides allow for passive ventilation for cooling purposes.

Despite its organic appearance, the structure is engineered to resist earthquakes, high-speed winds and other forces of nature.

The complex is able to accommodate 300 students, spanning over 8,000 square feet, and is used to host games of basketball and futsal, a variation on soccer that takes place in a court. It can also be used for student gatherings and visiting speakers.

Like wood, bamboo is becoming an increasingly appealing material for architectural construction thanks to its rapid growth rate and ability to sequester carbon — the natural look and feel are a nice touch, too.