Designing an Immersive Entry Installation for Art in Bloom
For this installation created in partnership with the North Carolina Museum of Art and the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center for this years NCMA Art in Bloom preview, the goal was to create an experience that felt immersive, sculptural, and emotionally transportive from the moment guests approached the entrance.
The installation centered around the elemental theme of fire — interpreted not literally, but atmospherically.
Rather than focusing on traditional floral abundance, the design explored movement, tension, warmth, and transformation through botanical composition. The objective was to create something that felt cinematic against the architecture of the planetarium itself.
The location played a profound role in the direction of the work.
The strong structural forms of the building created a dramatic contrast against the organic movement of the florals. We leaned into that dialogue intentionally, allowing the installation to feel as though nature itself was unfolding against the architecture.
Materials included layered branches, textural florals, preserved elements, tonal botanicals, and movement-driven forms selected to evoke heat, energy, and motion. Color was approached through depth and tonal warmth rather than brightness alone.
Scale became essential.
Because the installation functioned as an entry experience, it needed to create emotional impact immediately while still feeling refined and artistic up close. Guests encountered the work both architecturally from a distance and intimately as they moved through the space.
The emotional experience we hoped to create was one of wonder and pause.
An invitation for visitors to feel momentarily transported before even entering the exhibit itself.
Installations like this reinforce what we believe floral design can become when approached through the lens of art, architecture, and atmosphere.
Not simply arrangements placed within a space.
But environments capable of transforming how people experience it.