Jason Bruges Studio’s ‘Energy Dynamics’ is a Fusion of Innovation, Resilience and Remembrance
As the Workspace Design Show approaches, Design Insider, a proud media partner, shines a spotlight on the innovative contributions from Jason Bruges Studio. Known for its unique blend of art, architecture, and technology, the studio announces its participation with ‘living workplace’ a showcase of two prototypes, each a tangible slice of the larger permanent artwork. Here we focus on Energy Dynamics, created for the Ukrainian energy giant DTEK, which promises to captivate attendees right at the show’s entrance.
The Workspace Design Show serves as a global platform for the most creative minds in business, architecture, design, and beyond. It’s a place where industry leaders, from local talents to international brands, gather to explore the forefront of workplace interior innovation. Tuesday, 27 February – Wednesday, 28 February at the Business Design Centre, London.
Jason Bruges Studio, established in London in 2002, stands at the crossroads of interactive art and architectural design, pioneering spaces that resonate with cultural and contextual narratives. Each project is an exploration of the interplay between people, their environments, and the technologies that bridge them, fostering engagement and sparking imagination. The studio designed Energy Dynamics for DTEK.
Since its inception in 2005, DTEK has embarked on a remarkable journey from regional energy operator to a national leader in both conventional and green energy sectors. By revitalising previously state-owned enterprises, DTEK not only achieved profitability but also spearheaded the production of environmentally friendly energy in Ukraine, underscoring the transformative power of innovation and sustainability in the energy sector.
The brief: A data-driven art installation
In April 2021, Ukrainian energy company, DTEK, invited Jason Bruges Studio to create a data-driven art installation for its new London office – a hub for Ukrainian investment and dialogue. The vision was a digital frieze celebrating DTEK’s mission to provide light and warmth to millions as well as its wider mission to drive Ukraine’s transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
Just as with the laws of thermodynamics that govern the transfer of energy from one place to another, or from one form to another, so Energy Dynamics shows the transfer of energy from source to city, and from a ray of light, gust of wind or lump of coal to the power that drives a nation. It also acts as a memorial for hundreds of staff who have lost their lives since the start of the full-scale invasion over the past 24 months.
Innovation: How it works
Energy Dynamics consists of 593 luminous arcs mounted on a 12 meter-wide canvas, hung above DTEK’s offices in the Leadenhall Building, London. Each arc represents a Ukrainian city, power station, renewable installation or weather pattern that is then brought to life through live data links that send energy pulsing across the board – a stylised map of Ukraine – as undulating waves of light. The effect is a real-time ‘power map’ that also mimics the behaviour of atoms – the simplest form of energy.
New meaning: The heat of war
Tragically, war has given this artwork new meaning and poignancy. From a piece originally commissioned to show Ukraine’s decarbonisation, *russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 turned Energy Dynamics into a symbol of endurance and a visual statement of DTEK’s mission to quite literally keep the lights on. Ever since 2014, when it first occupied Crimea and the Donbas, russia has repeatedly targeted civilian energy infrastructure in a campaign the United Nations says may amount to crimes against humanity.
Far from a picture of pessimism however, this artistic centrepiece is testament to the country’s resilience. Power stations in occupied territory appear static today, but they remain ready… waiting for Ukraine’s victory to light up once again. In the meantime, Energy Dynamics stands a monument to the bravery of those on the energy front line, who sustain Ukraine through the darkness.
* It is DTEK Group’s policy to write ‘russia’ with a lowercase ‘r’ to indicate our distain for a country that has invaded Ukraine’s sovereign territory, killed and wounded thousands of citizens, occupied our land, stolen children and committed atrocities that both the International Criminal Court and United Nations say may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. By ‘de-capitalising russia’, we also assert that frozen russian assets in the global financial system should be passed to Ukraine to compensate for the estimated US$411billion of damages a UN-led Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment says were caused by russia.
Energy Dynamics, 2024, photos by James Medcraft, courtesy of Jason Bruges Studio