September 19, 2016

Olson Kundig Crafts a 10-Ton Ice Cube

ICE CUBE at the Seattle Design Festival. Photography by Eirik Johnson.

International design firm Olson Kundig unveiled an installation, ICE CUBE, as part of the Seattle Design Festival’s Block Party celebration. The firm sought to showcase the natural water cycle’s various stages as the ice gradually shifted from opaque to translucent, all while scattering ambient light throughout Occidental Park. A temporary piece, the 10-ton frozen sculpture gradually melted and evaporated as exposed to the summer sun—after offering passersby cool respite from the sweltering heat, its gradual erosion signals the eventual return of water to the seas. The firm’s principals, Tom Kundig and Jim Olson, were inducted into the Interior Design Hall of Fame in 2012.
 

ICE CUBE at the Seattle Design Festival. Photography by Eirik Johnson.

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