Designboom Explores Spectator and Spectacle in Design

In a recent feature titled Spectator and Spectacle, designboom journeyed from underground nightclubs to cinematic illusions, wearable architectures, and sculptural mirrors. Opening the chapter with her editorial The Haçienda Must Be Built, Sofia Lekka Angelopoulou challenged readers by asking what happens when experiences become entirely predictable and images lose their power to surprise us.

The conversation expanded through contributions from various practitioners. John Leo Gillen reflected on disappearing nightclub architecture, Łukasz Twarkowski blurred the lines between theater and cinema, and Dennis Vanderbroeck examined spatial design for collective experiences. Meanwhile, photographers David Altrath and François Prost captured architectural spaces and facades from distinct viewpoints.

Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event

Highlighting collective performance, Leda Papaconstantinou and the Spetses Players transformed a Greek island into an experimental stage during the 1970s using local stories and architecture. Similarly, Korean artist Yeondoo Jung collected children drawings in his Wonderland project, recreating them with teenage models and props across Seoul to expose truths about urban development and social inequality.