A highlight of the recent 2025 Clerkenwell Design Week (CDW) in London (May 20-22) was architect Arthur Mamou-Mani’s Harmonic Tides installation – a glowing corridor formed from 3D-printed walls reminiscent of waves.

Mamou-Mani was the 2025 winner of the Shaping Water Competition organised by Dezeen in collaboration with Villeroy & Boch and Ideal Standard, which challenges architects and designers to create an installation celebrating the essence of water for CDW.

The architect collected a prize of £5,000 and a budget of £15,000 to realise the design and create the large-scale installation at  St John’s Gate – a prominent historic location in the heart of Clerkenwell.

Each structure featured a ripple-like geometry, informed by the hydrodynamic forms found in nature, such as river eddies and spiral ocean currents.

The 3D printed structures were based on filaments extruded from plant sugar-based PLA (polylactic acid), which generates 80% less carbon than petroleum plastics. PLA is also edible by enzymes, enabling it to be decomposed by industrial composting.

LED lights and gentle music enhanced the sense of an underwater world to create a relaxing space for visitors to spend time in during the CDW exhibition.

“Harmonic Tides explores the structuring principles of water and the universality of flows, celebrating the constant transformation and interconnectedness of natural systems,” said Mamou-Mani. “We believe in waves of innovation through impactful storytelling and we also love the idea of taking you on a journey to a future in which our objects are designed globally but made locally, and where we make everything from renewable and circular materials.”

A similar approach involving parametric design and digital fabrication was taken to create the new bar at the famous Piccadilly department store of Fortnum and Mason’s, designed and 3D printed from PLA at Mamou-Mani’s Fab.Pub circular factory in London.

www.mamou-mani.com