When the Ice Floes were built in 2015, they consisted of 10 spring-mounted platforms designed to resemble swaying ice floes. Since then, many of DOKK1’s visitors have jumped from floe to floe, enjoying the playful installation.

In December 2024, the Ice Floes reopened with a technical enhancement that augments the original installation into a multimedia experience. Now, people’s movements on the floes trigger both sound and light.

According to 3D interaction designer Jonas Oxenbøll Petersen from CAVI, who helped design the enhancement, the goal is to explore how light, sound, and interaction can transform an existing urban space into an engaging experience.

And it’s no coincidence that the chosen space is a playground.

“We deliberately chose the playground as the focal point because it’s typically a place that’s abandoned after dark,” Jonas explains.

With the new additions, the Ice Floes now invite play and interaction even in the evening hours.

Children play more deeply engaged

In the design process, CAVI emphasized that the sound and light should reflect recognizable natural phenomena associated with the Arctic.

When jumping across the 10 floes, one can hear whales, storms, and calving icebergs, while waves of light—programmed to resemble the northern lights—flow from more than 7,000 LEDs beneath the platforms.

This creates a unique and immersive experience for playground users.

“We’ve already observed that children play more deeply engaged when the playground is extended with our installation. By not explicitly defining what can and cannot be done, the design invites personal interpretations and play scenarios we hadn’t anticipated. That kind of open-ended exploration was one of our hopes for the installation, which offers a more engaging experience than the classic push-a-button-and-something-happens interaction,” Jonas explains.

An experience with broad appeal

Although the Ice Floes may seem primarily aimed at children and the young at heart, the installation is designed for both those who play on it and those who observe from a distance.

“The experience is far from limited to children on the playground. For instance, from the large panoramic window on the first floor of DOKK1, you get a completely different impression of how the 7,000 LEDs form a dynamic surface capable of creating fluid motion,” Jonas elaborates.

In daylight, the soundscape provides the most noticeable transformation, while in the evening, the entire visual expression is reshaped by dynamic lighting—and the experience varies depending on your vantage point.

Outdoor installations require special considerations

When CAVI designs an outdoor installation like the Ice Floes, they bring all their expertise into play—from electronics and software to audio design and visual content.

“Our technician investigates which LEDs, speakers, and other hardware are best suited for outdoor use, and works closely with our software developers to create a system that is both robust and flexible. Content design happens in parallel, ensuring an ongoing dialogue about possibilities and aspirations,” Jonas says.

Jonas himself has often visited DOKK1 and the Ice Floes after dark to get a sense of how the design functions and appears in practice.

“I usually build a virtual simulator to sense a design, but quite early in the process, I had to go on-site to experiment in real life. With light installations, that naturally means working in the dark—so I’ve spent many cold winter evenings on the playground,” he explains.

Up against major players

The Ice Floes are nominated for a MAB 2025 award in the category “Spatial Media Art,” which highlights projects operating at the intersection of architecture and media art—projects that activate, challenge, and shape public spaces in innovative ways.

Other nominees in the category include the large-scale installations Your Palm is My Universe 2025 from China and Road of Life 2024 from Ukraine.

“We’re fully aware that we’re up against some very big players in the field. As a research center, CAVI differs from the large production companies that make a living creating large-scale installations. That’s why I’m especially proud that our relatively small project has been nominated—a project built on years of research, experience, and self-developed tools in interaction design and dynamic light and sound,” Jonas says.

The Media Architecture Biennale (MAB 2025) will be held from November 18–23 in Bangkok. All finalists will be featured in an article series on Archdaily.