Cadence of the Spiral Primary Function: Kinetisk installasjon by Yusuke Kamiyama is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award i Sølv in Kunst og kunstinstallasjonsdesign Competition Category.
SølvKunst· 2026
Cadence of the Spiral Primary Function: Kinetisk installasjon
Client: Spline Design Hub Inc.
A' Design Award i Sølv Winner in Kunst Category
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The Design
About Cadence of the Spiral Primary Function: Kinetisk installasjon
Book Text: Cadence of the Spiral utforsker tiden som noe elastisk, relasjonelt og levende. En stripe av rustfritt fjærstål formes til en stadig skiftende form av tretti mekaniske armer. Armene beveger seg i subtile, faseforskjøvne rytmer. Mens spiralen puster, vrir seg og omorganiserer seg selv, er aldri to øyeblikk like. Verket er inspirert av drivfjæren i en mekanisk klokke. Det nytolker det sammenrullede metallet som et kar for lagret energi og tidsmessig flyt. Bevegelsen gjentas ikke. I stedet avdekkes forandring gjennom kontrollert variasjon. Tiden måles ikke, men føles.
The Recognition
About the A' Design Award i Sølv
Cadence of the Spiral Primary Function: Kinetisk installasjon er vinner av A' Design Award i Sølv, en usedvanlig prestisjefylt anerkjennelse som tildeles design i toppklassen som er nydelige og imponerende. Sølvvinnere er enormt briljante og usedvanlig kreative verk som viser designernes enestående ekspertise, talent og skarpsindighet. Cadence of the Spiral Primary Function: Kinetisk installasjon forventes å være et praktfullt utstillingsverk som er bemerkelsesverdig profesjonelt og dypt nyskapende. Dette designet, som har vunnet A' Design Award i Sølv, er en svært bemerkelsesverdig, beundret oppfinnelse som gagner og flytter grensene for kunst, vitenskap, design og teknologi. Cadence of the Spiral Primary Function: Kinetisk installasjon er et skaperverk mange misunner, som vekker ønsker, gir positive følelser og vekker undring og forundring.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- A long stainless-steel spiral is dynamically deformed by independently actuated arms, generating continuous reorganization through tension and release. Unlike static sculpture, the form never settles; it is constantly restructured into shifting orders. The spiral functions as a physical model of time—elastic, unstable, and relational. Controlled irregularity replaces mechanical uniformity, allowing viewers to perceive time not as measurement, but as a living and evolving order.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Material: Blast-finished stainless spring steel (0.3 mm thickness, 80 mm width)
Spiral pitch: 100 mm
Number of turns: 10
Control: PC-based control system
Installation footprint: Approx. 2000 mm × 2000 mm × 2000 mm
Power: AC 100–240 V - Tags
- Kinetic art, Spiral structure, Time perception, Mechanical rhythm, Parametric design, Stainless steel sculpture, Dynamic installation, Temporal form
- Production Technology
- A custom-fabricated stainless-steel spiral plate forms the core structure, paired with a bespoke linear actuation system developed for this work. Most mechanical components—including joints, mounts, and structural interfaces—were custom-designed to enable precise distributed deformation. Motion is coordinated through a PC-based control architecture enabling synchronized, phase-shifted oscillations. Parametric modeling and simulation optimized stress distribution and torsional balance.
- Design Challenge
- The primary challenge was balancing structural stability with expressive flexibility. The spiral required sufficient rigidity to maintain form, yet enough elasticity to allow dynamic deformation. Managing distributed mechanical stress while achieving organic motion demanded extensive iteration. Technological constraints of synchronized actuation and material fatigue also required innovative solutions to preserve both safety and poetic integrity.
- Research
- This practice-based design research explores time as a spatial and kinetic phenomenon. Through iterative prototyping combining mechanical engineering and artistic experimentation, parametric modeling, structural simulation, and motion analysis were employed. Audience observation during exhibitions informed the study. The research identified perceptual shifts generated by micro-irregular motion, demonstrating how controlled instability enhances emotional engagement and contributes to contemporary kinetic art and experiential design.
- Inspiration
- Inspired by the mainspring of a mechanical watch, Cadence of the Spiral reconsiders the spiral beyond its functional role. The tightly wound strip of metal appeared as a vessel containing latent energy and rhythm of time itself. When gently lifted, it responded with subtle motion, as if about to begin a heartbeat. The spiral thus emerged not as an object, but as a physical manifestation of invisible time—an embodiment of tension and release within temporal experience.
- Project Duration
- The project began in Tokyo in March 2025 and was completed in November 2025. Prototyping and structural validation were conducted in Tokyo. Developed in collaboration with Seiko Watch Corporation to explore the cultural and mechanical heritage of horology, the work was exhibited in Japan and is currently being prepared for international presentation.
- Operation Flow
- The spiral slowly shifts between tension and release. As the supporting arms extend and retract, the form breathes, twists, and reorganizes itself. There is no fixed choreography; instead, subtle variations create moments of alignment and misalignment. Viewers experience a continuous transformation—sometimes synchronized, sometimes slightly off—evoking the sensation of time that never fully repeats yet always returns.
- Patents
- Copyrights belong to Spline Design Hub Inc., 2025.
- Team Members
- Yusuke Kamiyama
Shin Sakamoto
Kaku Murayama
Fumiya Nakano - Image Credits
- IMAGE CREDITS: Daisuke Ohki
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