Concret’us Dialogue
Concret’us Dialogue
Interactive concrete installation exploring Brutalism through touch, sound and light.
MA Design Final Project / Vilnius Academy of Arts / 2026
Role: Concept, research, object design, material experiments, exhibition design
Materials: Concrete, optical fibers, contact microphone, LED, steel structure
About research
Concret’us Dialogue is an interactive concrete installation that explores Brutalist architecture through touch, sound and light. The project responds to the perception of Brutalism as cold, heavy and emotionally distant, especially within Lithuania’s historical context. By touching the concrete surface, the visitor hears vibrations travelling through the material and sees light activated through embedded optical fibers. The project transforms concrete into a tactile, audible and responsive surface.
Context: emotional distance from Brutalism
Brutalist architecture is often experienced from a distance as mass, structure and historical memory. In Lithuania, this perception is intensified by its association with Soviet-era architecture and urban heaviness. The project asks how design can create a more direct and sensitive relationship with this architectural language.
How can Brutalist aesthetics be experienced through the body, rather than only through sight?
Tactile concrete surface
The main object is a concrete slab divided into tactile zones: rough, smooth, grooved, edged and optical-fiber areas. Each surface invites a different hand movement and creates different vibrations, turning the slab into an interface between the body and the material.
Interaction
The installation is activated by touch. As the visitor moves their hand across the surface, the material becomes audible and visible through light. The experience shifts Brutalism from a distant architectural image into a direct sensory encounter.
Exhibition as a research structure
The installation is presented within a scaffold-like structure referencing construction, process and architectural incompleteness. It holds the main object, material studies, sound equipment and explanatory research scroll, creating a complete exhibition system.
