Inspiring Formosa Generative Scenography by Hsiaoyi Yu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Bronze A' Design Award in Performing Arts, Stage, Style and Scenery Design Competition Category.
BronzePerforming Arts· 2026
Inspiring Formosa Generative Scenography
by Hsiaoyi Yu
Client: Formosa Pipe Organ Society
Bronze A' Design Award Winner in Performing Arts Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #182998The Design
About Inspiring Formosa Generative Scenography
Inspiring Formosa is a generative virtual scenography system for live pipe organ concerts. Instead of physical sets, the system uses an artificial intelligence engine and a 5G low latency network to translate live sound and the movements of the organist into moving visual scenery. The visuals are projection mapped onto the venue architecture and the organ pipes, and they are synchronized with the stage lighting. The method avoids any alteration of heritage concert halls and removes the need for built and transported sets.
The Recognition
About the Bronze A' Design Award
Inspiring Formosa Generative Scenography 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. Inspiring Formosa Generative Scenography 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. Inspiring Formosa Generative Scenography splendidly satisfies needs, touches desires, charms feelings, and appeals to curiosity.
Interviews
Design Interview
What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
Our inspiration stems from the classical music concept of "Gesamtkunstwerk" (total artwork) and the cross-sensory experience of "Synesthesia." We view the millennium-old classical pipe organ as the main subject of the performance and a "breathing architecture." Our core design philosophy is "integrating classical cultural heritage, live performance, and architecture, while visually translating them." Through avant-garde smart technology, we break the traditional framework of passive listening in concerts. By merging the invisible physics of soundwaves with the beauty of algorithms, we enable audiences in the concert hall not only to "hear the light and shadow" but also to "see the music."
What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
Our main focus was "how to modernize classical performances without altering or damaging the physical structure of national-level concert halls." Our goal is to create a brand-new "cultural innovation prototype" that transforms traditional pipe organ performances into a profound, immersive, and interactive visual journey. Through this high-tech performative syntax, we hope to deeply engage contemporary "digitally native audiences," allowing classical music to seamlessly enter modern daily life through an innovative approach.
What are your future plans for this award winning design?
Inspiring Formosa is a highly scalable cultural performance framework. We have already launched the "Ten Halls Project" and simultaneously released digital and physical albums. Starting from the twin cities of Taipei and Kaohsiung, we plan to expand this smart technology-driven performance model to concert halls in cultural capitals worldwide. Using the pipe organ as our medium, we aspire to establish a cultural-tech masterpiece that represents Taiwan, ensuring that Taiwanese creativity continues to resonate in top-tier international venues.
Grand Interview
Inspiring Formosa Generative Scenography achieves something quite rare in contemporary performing arts, transforming the invisible physics of sound into a living architectural canvas without touching a single wall of a protected heritage venue. Is there a particular moment during the development of Inspiring Formosa Generative Scenography that crystallized for you how profoundly this system could redefine what a pipe organ concert can be, and what did that realization feel like as both an organist and a designer?
As a Taiwanese pipe organist, I have dedicated much of my career to the preservation of pipe organ heritage and international cultural exchange.During the creation of Inspiring Formosa, I realized that technology could become more than a presentation tool—it could serve as a powerful medium for cultural preservation and transmission.When generative visuals, music, and architectural space began interacting in real time, I understood that we were creating more than a concert. We were developing a new model of cultural participation.Through Inspiring Formosa, the concert hall becomes a Living Museum, inviting audiences to rediscover the value of Taiwan’s culture, pipe organ heritage, and cultural assets through immersive experience.
The intersection of classical music and generative artificial intelligence is one of the most debated frontiers in contemporary culture right now, with many practitioners wondering whether technology enriches or dilutes artistic heritage. How does Inspiring Formosa Generative Scenography navigate that tension, and what specific design decisions were made to ensure that the AI-driven visuals serve the centuries-old tradition of the pipe organ rather than overshadowing it?
AI is never the protagonist of Inspiring Formosa.Culture is.The project begins with Taiwan’s cultural identity, pipe organ heritage, and the preservation of cultural assets. AI simply helps us make culture more accessible and engaging.I believe technology should not replace humanity. Its greatest value lies in helping culture transcend the limits of time and generations. That is why we adopt a human-centered and culture-centered approach, ensuring that technology serves cultural sustainability rather than the other way around.
The integration of a 5G low-latency network and Gaussian Splash simulations to process physical paintings in real time represents a genuinely inventive response to the challenge of sustainable cultural production. In what ways does Inspiring Formosa Generative Scenography propose a replicable model for other performing arts institutions worldwide that are grappling with the dual pressures of reducing environmental waste and preserving the integrity of protected architectural spaces?
I believe that sustainability is not only environmental—it is also cultural.Inspiring Formosa integrates cultural preservation, technological innovation, and public engagement to explore how culture can be preserved, shared, and continuously reimagined in the digital age.I hope this model can be adopted by cultural institutions, cities, and corporate partners, allowing art to become a platform for cultural sustainability, social impact, and international cultural exchange.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- Inspiring Formosa is a generative scenography system for live pipe organ concerts. Unlike traditional physical stages, it utilizes an AI engine and 5G to translate live acoustics into dynamic architectural projections instantly. This zero-waste, scalable model solves the restriction of altering heritage venues. Its unique advantage lies in transforming invisible sound into immersive visual art, offering a highly marketable, sustainable touring framework for contemporary performing arts.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- As a zero-waste virtual scenography, the design possesses no physical dimensions. It utilizes a 5G low-latency multicam system for real-time capture of the organist's movements. The visual engine, powered by TouchDesigner and ITRI's generative AI, processes acoustic data and physical paintings via Gaussian Splash simulations. Outputs are projection-mapped directly onto the venue's architecture and synchronized seamlessly with stage lighting via DMX and ArtNet protocols.
- Tags
- virtual scenography, stage design, projection mapping, generative art, pipe organ concert, interactive stage, artificial intelligence, 5G technology, immersive environment, total artwork
- Production Technology
- Realized without physical sets, the virtual scenography uses TouchDesigner as the core engine, integrating generative AI, particle systems, and live video capture. A 5G low-latency multicam setup captures the organist’s hand and pedal movements, feeding data into the engine. AI models analyze live acoustics and process physical paintings via Gaussian Splash simulations. Visuals are projection-mapped onto the venue's architecture, synchronized with stage lighting via DMX and ArtNet protocols.
- Design Challenge
- Culturally, the challenge was modernizing the pipe organ without compromising its heritage. Technically, national concert halls strictly prohibit physical stage constructions. We overcame this by replacing traditional props with non-invasive projection mapping to create a virtual scenography. Furthermore, synchronizing live acoustics with AI visuals required solving severe latency issues. Integrating a 5G network ensured zero-delay rendering, unifying heritage with dynamic digital scenery.
- Research
- This applied research aims to sustainably modernize classical performances.
The methodology translates real-time acoustics into visual syntax using an AI engine, 5G networks, and Gaussian Splash simulations.
We tested this with a live organist and audiences at two national venues.
The result is a zero-waste, scalable virtual scenography.
Insights prove this digital model revitalizes cultural heritage, eliminates physical touring waste, and offers a highly marketable theatrical experience. - Inspiration
- Inspired by the concept of "Gesamtkunstwerk" (total artwork), we sought to modernize the millennium-old pipe organ. The motivation was to decode classical heritage visually without damaging historical venues. Supported by ITRI's 5G low-latency network and Gaussian Splash AI simulations processing physical paintings, we treated the venue as a breathing instrument. This interdisciplinary research merges sound physics with algorithmic beauty, amplifying human emotion through smart technology.
- Project Duration
- The project development started in 2021 in Taipei, Taiwan. The first iteration premiered at the National Theater and Concert Hall in Taipei on August 9, 2024. The project was subsequently expanded and exhibited at the Weiwuying National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts in Kaohsiung on October 24, 2025, completing the twin-city curatorial framework.
- Operation Flow
- Instead of using traditional wooden sets, the stage operates as a living, interactive canvas. As the organist performs, an intelligent system listens to the live melodies and captures her movements. It instantly translates this acoustic energy into fluid, breathing light projections mapped directly onto the venue's walls and organ pipes. This real-time interaction creates a deeply immersive visual journey, offering a breathtaking, zero-waste theatrical experience that static props cannot achieve.
- Patents
- Copyrights belong to Formosa Pipe Organ Society, 2025.
- Image Credits
- Image #1: Formosa Pipe Organ Society, Inspiring Formosa, 2025.
Image #2: Formosa Pipe Organ Society, Inspiring Formosa, 2025.
Image #3: Formosa Pipe Organ Society, Inspiring Formosa, 2025.
Image #4: Formosa Pipe Organ Society, Inspiring Formosa, 2025.
Image #5: Formosa Pipe Organ Society, Inspiring Formosa, 2025.
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