Inversive Enclosure Installation: Reflective Geometry Meets Spatial Experience at Harvard Yard

Project Overview

Inversive Enclosure, a collaborative architectural installation, was designed for the inaugural 2023 Harvard Arts Festival. Conceived by Alsar Atelier, Oscar Zamora, Karim Saleh Studio (KSS), and Pietro Mendonça, the installation reinterprets the landscape of Harvard Yard—a historic and symbolic space—through a geometrically inspired, reflective environment.

Drawing from the mathematical principles of three-dimensional inverse geometry, the design invites participants to reflect—literally and metaphorically—on their spatial experience within the campus's storied grounds. This dynamic, temporary structure simultaneously blends with and distorts its context, reshaping the way we see and move through Harvard Yard.

Design and Concept

The installation is arranged as a rectangular plan housing a pixelated circular void at its center. Mylar strips, mounted vertically between floor and ceiling structures, form a semi-transparent curtain that defines the enclosure. These mirrored strips rise gradually to eye-level, creating a convex effect that alters the viewer’s orientation while allowing partial visibility in and out.

This approach blurs the line between enclosure and openness. Visitors experience a sudden spatial disconnection from the familiar surroundings while still being subtly aware of them. Entrances on opposing sides maintain circulation while emphasizing a contrast between exterior and interior realms.

Interaction with Harvard Yard

Harvard Yard is characterized by its historic red-brick buildings, mature trees, and open green spaces. Inversive Enclosure responds to these elements by inserting a sculptural yet introspective space within the Yard’s traditional setting. It becomes an “enclosure within an enclosure”—a place of both spatial contrast and continuity.

Rather than compete with the Yard’s built identity, the installation mirrors and reframes it. It disrupts conventional paths, interrupts sightlines, and transforms how users engage with the space. Visitors are encouraged to pause, observe, and question their place within a constantly shifting visual and spatial context.

Material and Environmental Response 

The primary material—reflective mylar—serves both structural and conceptual purposes. Its shiny, malleable surface reflects the surrounding trees, sky, and architecture, creating kaleidoscopic distortions that challenge perception. Environmental elements—light, shadow, movement—are continuously refracted and fragmented across the surfaces, intensifying the immersive effect.

Despite its modest 53 m² footprint, the installation harnesses its materials and form to provoke deep contemplation. It calls attention to elements that often go unnoticed in daily routines and engages visitors in a dialogue between the physical space and their internal reflection.

 Inversive Enclosure is not just an artistic structure—it is a spatial experience that transforms a familiar landscape into a meditative zone. Its blend of geometry, materiality, and interactivity embodies the essence of site-specific, temporary architecture. The project captures the dualities of openness and closure, transparency and reflection, motion and stillness—prompting users to engage with the built environment in new and meaningful ways.

All the photographs are works of Rolando Girodengo, Dhruv Mehta, Alejandro Saldarriaga