Suchi Reddy and Lexus create Milan Design Week exhibition with ‘forest of composite shapes’

Lexus has unveiled an installation by New York-based artist and architect Suchi Reddy as part of Milan Design Week. Shaped by Air is on display at Superstudio in Milan alongside prototypes by the four winners of the Lexus Design Award 2023. 

Shaped by Air draws inspiration from the Lexus Electrified Sport concept vehicle, and has been reimagined for Milan Design Week as a site-specific installation that invites guests to discover a to-scale interpretation of the vehicle “after traveling through an enveloping forest of its composites shapes” which are suspended from the ceiling.

The green leaf-like composite shapes have been created from sculptural steel and aluminum, and create what the team calls “an environment that invites deep absorption and evokes the natural world.” The installation’s call to nature is further emphasized by a soundscape that draws inspiration from the wind. 

“I am excited to partner with Lexus––a brand committed to uplifting artists and designers––on a new iteration of Shaped by Air,” said Reddy, who is the founder of Reddymade Architecture and Design. “This immersive interpretation in Milan makes use of repetition, multisensory elements, and three-dimensionality to create an emotional environment that envelops the body like a car.”

For viewers not in Milan, the team has partnered with digital creative agency Diorama to create a metaverse experience that complements the physical installation. The virtual edition is described as “a dynamic digital forest where users can explore an abstract natural world from a never-been-seen perspective, one filled with the rustling of leaves, sinuous currents of air, and diffusions of light.”

The exhibition will be on display until April 23rd at Superstudio in Milan.