Floating Pavilion by Daxing Jizi Design: A Dreamlike Urban Oasis in Shenzhen

A Luminous Intervention in the Urban Fabric

Unveiled during the 3rd Public Urban Festival “Let’s Gala” in Shenzhen, the Floating Pavilion by Daxing Jizi Design is a captivating spatial installation that transforms a bustling city plaza into an ethereal nighttime landscape. Located in the heart of Longgang District, this luminous pavilion reimagines the role of public space through immersive lighting design, biomorphic forms, and community interaction.

Floating gently above the concrete surroundings, this installation invites visitors into a serene and poetic world — a respite from the chaos of daily life. The project is not only an architectural achievement but also a reflection on how art, design, and light can reshape urban experiences.

Conceptual Narrative: Inspired by the Jellyfish

Drawing its aesthetic and conceptual inspiration from deep-sea jellyfish, the Floating Pavilion channels the surreal beauty and motion of marine plankton. Its translucent, umbrella-like domes seem to hover effortlessly, their flowing curves and glowing hues recalling the quiet elegance of underwater life. This bio-inspired form is a metaphor for freedom and imagination, creating a dreamlike, “floating” mental space within the bustling city.

But the pavilion goes beyond imitation. It explores the delicate boundary between abstraction and realism, using architecture as a tool for emotional and sensory resonance. The installation serves as a medium for urban reflection, encouraging visitors to reconnect with nature, community, and themselves.

Spatial Design: Creating a Fantasy of Light

The pavilion is composed of a “1+3” layout — one large central pavilion (7 meters in diameter, 5.5 meters high) surrounded by three medium-sized structures (3.5 meters diameter, 2.5 meters high). This composition forms a visually dynamic matrix that becomes a beacon of light in the plaza.

Each pavilion is constructed using a metal frame and translucent inflatable film, a material chosen for its durability, sunshade properties, and water resistance — essential qualities for Shenzhen’s unpredictable summer weather. The film surfaces are inspired by natural pigments, featuring gradients of green, purple, and yellow.

A full-spectrum RGB lighting system programmed with a 6-second breathing cycle synchronizes with both human respiration and the rhythm of jellyfish movement, creating a gentle, meditative glow that shifts continuously. This rhythmic lighting transforms the urban square into a living installation, inviting people to slow down, reflect, and engage.

Interaction & Community Impact

Far more than a visual statement, the Floating Pavilion offers an inclusive space for spontaneous social encounters. The immersive environment encourages visitors of all ages to enter, explore, rest, and reflect. Visitors can step inside the glowing jellyfish structures, look up into the glowing canopy, and become part of the installation itself.

Originally, the design proposed small-scale “jellyfish loungers” filled with luminescent liquid as public seating elements. While these were not realized due to site management constraints, the idea signals the architects' intent to integrate public furniture into their installations — enhancing functionality without compromising artistic integrity.

In its realized form, the pavilion offers a rare space of deceleration in a fast-paced city, supporting community cohesion and emotional connection. As the day cools into evening, locals gather around the pavilions, drawn to the soft light, soothing forms, and the shared ambiance of a reimagined public square.

Technical Innovation & Material Strategy

The Floating Pavilion’s thoughtful material palette and structural flexibility underscore its design intelligence. The bright orange straps supporting the film surfaces are not only visually striking, but also function as a dynamic system that adapts to environmental stresses. In extreme conditions like typhoons, the inflatable structures can be safely deflated and secured to the frame — a crucial safety feature for temporary urban installations.

Architectural Reflection: A Middle Ground Between Art and Life

At its core, the Floating Pavilion is an exploration of what public installations can offer in the era of digital distraction and urban monotony. According to Daxing Jizi Design, their work lies at the intersection of architectural “hardware” and the emotional “software” of artistic experience.

By using light as a medium and nature as inspiration, the firm fosters connections — between people, places, and ideas. Their installations aim to create intimate middle grounds within the city — spaces that feel approachable, meaningful, and full of quiet possibility.

As the lights breathe and shift, and the jellyfish-like forms pulse against the night sky, the Floating Pavilion becomes a living organism — a public gesture toward unity, emotion, and creative urbanism.

All Photographs are works of Chao Zhang