Constructed for Milan Design Week, Matteo Thun & Partners and 3M Design have designed ‘A Pinnacle of Reflection’ — an immersive installation celebrating the influence of nature upon architecture and design.
The installation is featured within a 14m tower made from cross-laminated timber. Part of its facade is mirrored (due to the use of fasar reflect and fasara illumina finishes), which gives the tower the appearance of having merged with the sky.
Although on the outside, the building is clad in wood, on the inside, visitors step into an eye-popping kaleidoscopic world — where magenta, blue and golden butterfly-like forms flutter throughout the space.
Constructed from 3M’s dichroic reflective films — which change colour when viewed at different angles — the design references the rare blue morpho butterfly: a Brazilian species known for the iridescent sheen upon its wings.
Using optical films to mimic the butterfly's gleaming aesthetic, each ‘synthetic wing’ is made from 200 layers of the dichroic reflective film.
The blue morpho butterfly has historically inspired pigments and innovative materials such as dichroic films but unfortunately, it is currently threatened by habitat fragmentation and deforestation.
3M’s and Matteo Thun & Partners’ design honours the species and reflects the importance of turning to nature to find solutions and inspiration for architecture and design.
To view more about the design and the materials used, visit 3M’s and Matteo Thun & Partners websites.
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