Press Release
Klv Kinetic Light Installation by Takahiro Matsuo Wins the Golden A' Design Award in Installation Design
Takahiro Matsuo acknowledged for installation design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 22, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Golden A' Design Award in the Installation Design category for Klv Kinetic Light Installation by Takahiro Matsuo, designed for Lucent Design Inc.. The recognition forms part of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
What the Golden A' Design Award Means
The Gold A' Design Award is granted to designs that demonstrate a high level of innovation and a significant impact on their intended audience. Recognized as a major achievement by the A' Design Awards, these designs are characterized by their visionary approach and the exceptional skill of their creators. Winners of the Gold A' Design Award are noted for their ability to push the envelope in art, science, design, and technology, delivering solutions that not only meet but exceed expectations. These designs serve as benchmarks for excellence, encouraging further innovation and inspiring future generations of designers.
About Klv Kinetic Light Installation
KLV (Kinetic Light Vision) is an immersive spatial installation composed of 450 suspended spheres illuminated by full color LEDs and synchronized with panoramic projections. Developed for Expo 2025, the work transforms architectural space into a dynamic environment inspired by seasonal change. Through controlled motion, light modulation, and reflective surfaces, it creates an accessible experience that encourages emotional engagement across generations and cultural backgrounds.
About Takahiro Matsuo
Lucent Design Inc. is a Japan-based design studio led by artist and founder Takahiro Matsuo, creating light installations that integrate visual imagery, lighting, sound, technology, interaction, and aesthetic expression. The studio’s work is characterized by delicate expressions of light inspired by natural phenomena and underlying principles, combined with intuitive interactivity that evokes emotional experiences. LUCENT produces installations for public spaces, international exhibitions, lighting art for commercial environments, interactive artworks, and collaborative projects with luxury brands worldwide.
Award Record
This recognition makes Takahiro Matsuo a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Interactive, Experiential and Immersive Design Installations Award
The A' Installation Design Award is an international installation design competition recognizing good installation designs by best installation designers worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to installation designers, experiential design studios, interactive design agencies and immersive technology experts from all countries. Typical entries include sculptural installations, light installations, sound installations, digital installations, kinetic installations and site-specific installations. The awarded interactive installation designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/installation
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/174641
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/174641
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!174641
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/370918
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.lucent-design.co.jp/en/artworks/k_l_v/
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Klv Kinetic Light Installation
- Function
- Kinetic Light Installation
- Category
- Installation Design
- Discipline
- Communication Design
- Industry
- Arts and Branding & Advertising
- Colors
- Black, Midnight Blue, Teal and Dark Slate Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Lucent Design Inc.
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Takahiro Matsuo
- Country
- Japan
- Recognition
- Golden A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #174641
Credits
- Team
- Takahiro Matsuo / Lucent Design Inc., Ruiyi Zhou / Lucent Design Inc., Shiga Prefecture, Sumiko Aizu / TOTALMEDIA DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE CO., LTD., Anri Ito / TOTALMEDIA DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE CO., LTD., Daichi Oka / DRAMA MAKERS Ltd. and TOPPAN Inc.
- Image Credits
- Photographer Takahiro Matsuo, KLV (Kinetic Light Vision), 2025.; Photographer Takahiro Matsuo, KLV (Kinetic Light Vision), 2025. Video Credits: Videographer Daichi Oka / DRAMA MAKERS Ltd., KLV (Kinetic Light Vision), 2025.
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Created as a signature installation for an international exposition, KLV represents a convergence of aesthetic sensibility and advanced engineering within a single spatial system. The project consists of 450 luminous spheres suspended in calibrated alignment and synchronized with panoramic projections of Shiga's natural and cultural landscape. Developed for Expo 2025, the installation integrates precision motion control, programmable LED illumination, and mirrored curved surfaces into a cohesive kinetic environment. Rather than presenting imagery as a static backdrop, the system transforms landscape into an active spatial phenomenon shaped by light, movement, and reflection.
- Inspiration
- The inspiration for this work emerged from a fundamental question: can light itself become a medium for constructing landscape rather than merely illuminating it. Memorable environments are shaped not only by form and color, but by intangible rhythms such as shifting air, changing luminosity, and the passage of time. These ephemeral qualities became the conceptual foundation of the project. Kinetic Light Vision seeks to translate these atmospheric phenomena into physical motion and programmable illumination. By transforming transient natural rhythms into a structured spatial system, the work reinterprets landscape as an experiential process rather than a fixed image.
- Research
- This research investigated how coordinated light and kinetic motion can construct spatial narrative without reliance on language. The objective was to examine whether atmospheric phenomena such as rhythm, luminosity, and temporal variation could be translated into a perceptually coherent immersive environment. The methodology combined computational simulation, parametric motion testing, and full-scale prototyping. Variables including vertical displacement intervals, beam angle precision, color modulation, and synchronization timing were systematically evaluated to optimize perceptual continuity and spatial depth.
- Challenge
- The primary challenge lay in engineering a distributed kinetic system capable of controlling 450 suspended spheres with precise, near-silent vertical motion while maintaining exact synchronization with immersive visual content. Achieving this level of coordination required the integration of mechanical tolerance control, optical alignment, and real-time software synchronization within a single unified framework, without compromising safety, structural integrity, or visual clarity. Reconciling artistic ambition with engineering constraints demanded iterative prototyping at both component and full-scale levels.
- Realization and Technology
- The KLV system is engineered around a distributed kinetic control structure in which each of the 450 acrylic spheres is individually actuated by precision stepper motors. The spheres are suspended using ultra-fine 0.27 mm diameter wires, minimizing visual interference while maintaining structural stability and synchronized movement accuracy. Illumination is achieved through vertically aligned, ultra-narrow 0.2 degree full-color LED spotlights positioned beneath each sphere. This optical configuration transforms the suspended elements into volumetric points of light while preserving sharp beam definition and color fidelity.
- Operation and Interaction
- KLV operates through a choreographed sequence in which hundreds of illuminated spheres ascend and descend in precisely timed formations. Their vertical displacement is synchronized with panoramic environmental imagery, creating a continuous spatial narrative that unfolds over time. The experience is structured around seasonal transitions, where variations in light intensity, color temperature, and kinetic rhythm correspond to shifting natural phenomena. Rather than relying on textual explanation, the installation guides perception through coordinated motion, luminosity, and reflection, enabling intuitive engagement.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project was developed between 2023 and 2025 and realized for Expo 2025 in Shiga, Japan. The design process combined digital simulation and full-scale prototyping to refine kinetic sequencing, optical alignment, and spatial composition. Extensive 3D modeling and motion studies were conducted to calibrate vertical displacement patterns, beam angles, and perceptual rhythm. Physical mock-ups were constructed to verify mechanical tolerance, synchronization precision, and immersive depth under real viewing conditions. Observational feedback was gathered from visitors of diverse ages and nationalities during testing phases.
- Specifications
- Overall dimensions: Width 10000 mm x Depth 7550 mm x Height 4450 mm. The installation consists of 450 independent motorized units, each governing the precise vertical displacement of an individual acrylic sphere suspended by ultra-fine structural wire. The modular configuration allows calibrated alignment across the full spatial grid while maintaining consistent motion tolerance and mechanical stability. All measurements are defined according to the metric ISO system to ensure technical clarity, engineering accuracy, and reproducibility for evaluation, transportation, and potential reinstallation in diverse architectural contexts.
- Keywords
- Kinetic Art, Projection Mapping, Immersive Installation, Light Art, Acrylic Spheres, Motion Control, Panoramic Screen, Mirror Reflection, Public Installation, Expo 2025
