BIG ART PARTNERS

Documented artwork / responsive architectural installation

Bloom

Doris Sung

A responsive shell installation that uses curling thermobimetal tiles to change shading and ventilation with heat. The 2011 project combines a self-supporting panel geometry with a folded aluminum framing system.

Saves on this device.
Already working on a project?Adds directly to your existing saved project and keeps its brief intact.

Documented work. Current availability, ownership and installation requirements must be confirmed with the artist.

See the documented project and images

Verified artwork image for Bloom
Verified artwork imageImage: headlands.org ↗© Doris Sung (as credited at source)Image © Doris Sung (as credited at source) (as credited at source)

At a glance

Year / version
November 2011
Materials
Thermobimetal, Folded aluminum frame
Documented setting
unknown
Dimensions
Not documented
Dimensions apply to
Not documented
Availability
Unconfirmed

Places & versions

Installation history

Historical presentations. A past installation does not establish the current location or suitability for a new site.

  1. November 2011

    M&A Gallery, Silver Lake, California

    Site
    Materials&Application Gallery
    City
    Los Angeles
    State / region
    CA
    Country
    United States (inferred; not independently confirmed)
    Address
    1619 Silver Lake Blvd
    Start date
    2011-11
    Date meaning
    documented

    Installation details checked 2026-10-16.

    Installation source

From a reference to your project

Keep the idea.
Shape the brief.

Save this reference to your shortlist while you explore. Review your selection, then carry the references you choose into a commissioning brief for your site, audience, timing and open questions.

Your shortlist is saved on this device. Saving a reference does not contact the artist or reserve a work. Participation, availability, price and site suitability need confirmation.

View shortlist Build brief from shortlist Discuss a project with this reference Open full planning workspace Use the project worksheet Suggest a correction or provide an artist update

Research notes for project planning

How this work was made and presented

DOSU account of Bloom, Los Angeles, 2011

Responsive material changes the design problem

DOSU describes Bloom as a thermobimetal installation whose metal elements curl with heat, allowing the surface to change without an active control system. Its 414 panels were coordinated with a folded aluminum frame, with variations in connections and depth helping the structure hold its form. The project offers a useful distinction between programmed movement and material response. For planning, the exposure and orientation of each surface matter to the intended behavior, so a promising form should be evaluated against the actual light and heat conditions of its site.

DOSU — Bloom ↗ · Reviewed 2026-10-10

For your project brief

How will the site’s changing exposure affect the intended material response?

Big Art Partners planning prompt

Materials & Applications outdoor installation, 2011

The foundation is part of the experiment

Materials & Applications presented Bloom in Los Angeles in 2011 as a collaboration involving Doris Sung, Ingalill Wahlroos-Ritter and structural engineer Matthew Melnyk. Its account describes a tall shading structure supported by a foundation of slumped glass, whose weight contributed to stability. That detail broadens the lesson beyond an unusual responsive skin: an experimental surface still relies on a coordinated structural and ground strategy. A comparable commission could bring material research, engineering and the host’s site constraints into the same early design conversation.

Materials & Applications — Bloom ↗ · Reviewed 2026-10-10

For your project brief

How early can the material researcher, engineer and site host test the ground strategy together?

Big Art Partners planning prompt

Plan the next step

How to plan an outdoor sculpture loan ↗How to prepare a site brief for large-scale public art ↗

Sources