“Re”Floating Plastic – installation, Shanghai Xintiandi x Amsterdam Light Festival, Shanghai

Confronting the global crisis of plastic waste—where only 9% of 8.3 billion tons produced is recycled—AaaM Architects responded to China’s growing beverage consumption culture with an innovative public installation at Shanghai Xintiandi Plaza. Within a constrained 40-square-meter site, the project aimed to reshape public perception of plastic waste through artistic intervention, moving beyond traditional educational approach to create an engaging, sensory-rich environmental experience.

Centered around the concept of "rebirth and floating," the design drew inspiration from the journey of plastic waste in natural ecosystems and its potential transformation into urban lightscape. Targeting daily commuters and visitors, the team collected over 2,200 used plastic cups from local communities, transforming them into an immersive installation that allowed the public to actively participate in sustainability efforts. This approach embodied AaaM’s mission of empowering communities through design, integrating environmental values into everyday urban life.

Through meticulous sorting and prototyping, multi-brand plastic cups were reconfigured into two interactive elements: "Floating Lily" wheels invited people to rotate cup-formed mechanisms, triggering ripple-like lighting effects; "Plastic Glow" spheres served as illuminated seating, offering a contemplative space within the vibrant cityscape. Designed for modular assembly and full end-of-life recyclability, the installation demonstrated a closed-loop lifecycle and scalable approach to sustainable urban interventions.

As the only Hong Kong-led work selected for Lumiere Shanghai in collaboration with the Amsterdam Light Festival, the installation attracted hundreds of thousands of engagements over its three-month display. Situated at one of Shanghai’s busiest metro exits, it successfully merged art, ecology, and public interaction—inspiring commercial developers and city planners to reconsider the role of creative placemaking in promoting sustainability and community well-being.