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Ting Kai Chen's Beehive Fireworks Interactive Light establishes its compositional presence through a dramatic interplay of vertical luminous elements that emerge from a reflective aquatic plane…

Beehive Fireworks Interactive Light by Ting Kai Chen is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Bronze A' Design Award in Lighting Projects and Light Art Design Competition Category.


BronzeLighting Projects· 2026

Beehive Fireworks Interactive Light

by Ting Kai Chen

Client: Tainan City Government

Bronze A' Design Award Winner in Lighting Projects Category

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Verified Award Winner

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The Design

About Beehive Fireworks Interactive Light

By day, the form evokes a Qing Dynasty merchant vessel surging through the waves, a frozen moment of splashing spray that crystallizes the harbor's former glory. As night falls, the artwork transforms into soaring Beehive Fireworks, using the interplay of light and shadow to whisper a serene prayer. The piece utilizes reflections on the water to create a symmetrical top down view of the fireworks, while the natural ripples of the water authentically recreate the erratic, crisscrossing dynamism of the pyrotechnics.

The Recognition

About the Bronze A' Design Award

Beehive Fireworks Interactive Light is a Bronze A' Design Award winner, a highly prestigious recognition granted to outstanding designs distinguished by creativity, ingenuity, and astuteness. Bronze winners are amply skillful and strikingly creative artifacts that authenticate the vast experience, imagination, and resourcefulness of their designers. Beehive Fireworks Interactive Light is expected to be a highly regarded, admired, and cherished object that is notably professional and innovative. This Bronze A' Design Award-winning design incorporates best practices in art, science, design, and technology, and is excellent for its attention to detail. Beehive Fireworks Interactive Light splendidly satisfies needs, touches desires, charms feelings, and appeals to curiosity.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties
The core of the installation utilizes real-time generative algorithms to produce lighting effects. Unlike traditional pre-rendered loops, the visuals are synthesized instantly to ensure a non-repetitive aesthetic, mimicking the unpredictable nature of live fireworks. By integrating audience spatial data, it creates a unique visual experience for every individual.
Dimensions & Packaging
Dimensions:
4,000 mm x 4,000 mm x 3,000 mm

Materials:
Black iron tubes
LED pixel strips
Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) for buoyancy

Technical Properties:
Oak ai camera system for real-time sensing.
Computer-based controller for custom interaction logic.
Tags
Beehive Fireworks, Water Reflections, Generative Light, Taiwan Culture, Interactive Installation
Production Technology
The core of the installation utilizes a custom Unity-based engine to calculate lighting effects through generative algorithms in real-time. By leveraging an Oak-D AI camera to capture the spatial displacement of the audience, these movements are transformed into the computational soul of the algorithm. Through a DMX system, it provides independent control over 9,275 RGB LEDs, delivering exceptionally refined visual dynamics.

Key Technologies: Oak-D AI camera, Unity engine, Generative algorithms, Real-time motion tracking.
Design Challenge
The core challenge was floating engineering in outdoor waters, requiring precise buoyancy and gravity calculations. Additionally, high humidity in outdoor environments posed strict requirements for the sealing, heat dissipation, and operational stability of the electronic systems. The design's key innovation lies in harnessing water reflections as an integral part of the visual composition, turning them into an essential extended interface.
Research
As technology advances, many traditional cultures are gradually losing their connection with modern life. We aim to utilize digital methodologies to re-envision the "Beehive Fireworks" ritual, transforming its explosive energy into a serene experience. By integrating AI vision sensors and generative algorithms, the project translates human presence into intricate light dynamics, guiding viewers from passive observation to active participation to reawaken a profound sense of cultural identity.
Inspiration
The Beehive Fireworks is a unique ritual in Tainan, Taiwan, symbolizing purification. The concept transforms its fervor into a serene ritual. By day, the form captures the speed of historical trade, mimicking the splash of a merchant vessel. At night, the work uses water reflections to create the symmetrical top-down view of actual Beehive Fireworks. Through natural ripples, the design authentically recreates their erratic, crisscrossing dynamism.
Project Duration
The project was officially exhibited at the 2026 Yuejin Lantern Festival in Tainan, Taiwan.
Operation Flow
The installation senses the audience through shoreside cameras. By subtly translating their posture into the dynamic rhythm of beehive firecrackers, it recreates the temporal experience of the ritual. This mechanism turns presence into visual momentum, allowing engagement to define the ebb and flow of time and light.
Team Members
TING KAI CHEN
GUAN YU LIN
YA CHU TSAO
TZU CHI LIU
YU CHUN CHEN
CHONG HUI CHOON
CHIA HSIN CHIANG
Image Credits
Image #1: Photographer Ching Hung, Chu, Beehive Fireworks, 2026.
Image #2: Photographer Ching Hung, Chu, Beehive Fireworks, 2026.
Image #3: Photographer Ching Hung, Chu, Beehive Fireworks, 2026.
Image #4: Photographer Ching Hung, Chu, Beehive Fireworks, 2026.
Image #5: Photographer Ching Hung, Chu, Beehive Fireworks, 2026.

Video Credits: Creator Wonderful Spring Studio, Beehive Fireworks, 2026.

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