Google creates architectures of light for Design Week 2025

How to sculpt the intangible? How to make art appear from the air, with no apparent support? This is what Google asked itself when preparing the installation Making the Invisible Visible, which was opened during the Milan's Salone del Mobile at Garage 21 in Via Archimede, 26. The exhibition will be open to the public from April 8 to 13, 2025, from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM, and represents a new exploration by Google into the process of transforming abstract ideas into tangible forms, through a fusion of art, design, and technology, to create a unique sensory experience that invites reflection on human perception. The installation is the result of the collaboration between Ivy Ross, Chief Design Officer of Google Consumer Devices, her design team, and light and water artist Lachlan Turczan, an American artist with a strong interest in the interaction between light, water, and sound, who has brought his experience in creating immersive environments that alter human perception to this exhibition. His career began with the design of spectacular fountains in iconic locations like Dubai, Las Vegas, and Singapore, where he refined his knowledge of the sculptural properties of water. Among his best-known works is Wavespace, a project where water is used as a liquid lens to visualize sound waves, and the recent Veil Series, created in collaboration with engineer Kevin Izard, which uses custom optics to create volumetric light curtains through mist. For his collaboration with Google, Turczan showcased the fundamentals of his art by creating interactive lights that react to human presence, forming images in the air and on the floors as if they were alive.

The exhibition path designed by Google together with Turczan for this Design Week 2025 unfolds through three distinct environments, each highlighting an aspect of the transformation from the visible to the invisible, between energy and matter – which also represents how the thoughts and ideas of Ivy Ross’s team are translated into concrete products. In this sense, the progression of the spaces forms a journey that moves from the intangible and conceptual towards the material world of products and tech devices. The first section features Lucida (I-IV), an artistic installation created by Turczan, which uses light to shape immersive spaces where visitors can move and interact with the environment. The light, made consistent through large-scale optics, takes on a physical character and responds to the presence of people, creating an ephemeral architecture made of energy and perception. As they walk through these luminous veils spreading through mist, visitors experience the blurred boundary between what is tangible and intangible – a new concept of matter and space. After the first environment, visitors will move on to the second section, where the creative processes behind the creation of Google hardware devices are explored.

Each space tells the story of a specific product, illustrating the journey that transforms an abstract concept into a concrete object, with a particular focus on ergonomics, functionality, and sensory perception. Google’s design philosophy emerges through materials, shapes, and colors that make each device not only intuitive to use but also pleasant to touch and see. The third and final section of the exhibition is dedicated to Google’s entire hardware product portfolio, offering an overview of the work of the design team led by Ivy Ross, who has been with Google since 2017, creating a range of devices spanning from smartphones to smart speakers, with over 250 international awards for their aesthetic and functional value. Here, visitors can explore the company’s approach to technological design and understand how Google combines innovation with aesthetic sensitivity, creating devices that are not just tools but true design objects.

Making the Invisible Visible is not just an exhibition, but an artistic and sensory experience that invites exploration of the connections between art, science, and technology. Through its interactive installations and immersive artist environments, Google aims to take visitors on a journey through the endless possibilities of design, offering a new perspective on how ideas can transform into concrete reality. The event represents a unique opportunity to understand the future of design and how innovation and creativity can merge to create experiences that are capable of moving and inspiring.