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Kanishka Naresh Singh

Musical Maze

Theme: Storytelling · Human Emotions · Myth · Interactivity

This project was developed as a response to the 2025 edition of the Chaumont-sur-Loire International Garden Festival, where the theme invited designers to explore the poetic overlap between fantasy, mythology, and human emotion. Inspired by evocative worlds like Arabian Nights and timeless fairy tales, the aim was to create an environment where visitors do not merely observe a narrative, they walk through it, shape it, and hear it come alive.

Group Members: Kanishka Naresh Singh, Manlei Yang & Yuqing Zheng

(02)
Nantes, France
Public Installation
2025

The festival’s requirement to use bamboo as the primary material led us into a focused study of its structural, ecological, and cultural qualities. We examined its impressive tensile strength, which exceeds many hardwoods and even some steel alloys, and recognised how its natural ability to regenerate without harming the plant supports themes of renewal and sustainability.

Our research extended to the French context, looking at locally available species, traditional tools, joinery techniques, and weaving methods used by regional craftsmen. Through hands-on experiments, we tested bamboo’s bending behaviour at different bases to understand its flexibility, curvature, and the way sound travels through it. This material exploration became central to the installation, shaping its physical form as well as the emotional character it aimed to evoke.

The festival’s requirement to use bamboo as the primary material led us into a focused study of its structural, ecological, and cultural qualities. We examined its impressive tensile strength, which exceeds many hardwoods and even some steel alloys, and recognised how its natural ability to regenerate without harming the plant supports themes of renewal and sustainability. Our research extended to the French context, looking at locally available species, traditional tools, joinery techniques, and weaving methods used by regional craftsmen. Through hands-on experiments, we tested bamboo’s bending behaviour at different bases to understand its flexibility, curvature, and the way sound travels through it. This material exploration became central to the installation, shaping its physical form as well as the emotional character it aimed to evoke.

“The music of the stream is not its own; it sings the songs of all things that touch it.”
— Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali

“The music of the stream is not its own; it sings the songs of all things that touch it.” — Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali

The concept took shape after exploring both the qualities of bamboo and the emotional direction of the theme, leading to the idea of a sound-filled labyrinth where the material becomes both pathway and instrument.

The “Musical Maze” was envisioned as a space that transforms an ordinary walk into a gentle performance, allowing the environment to act as a resonating body. Here, sound guides movement, movement creates music, and visitors naturally become co-creators of the sensory narrative.

The concept took shape after exploring both the qualities of bamboo and the emotional direction of the theme, leading to the idea of a sound-filled labyrinth where the material becomes both pathway and instrument. The “Musical Maze” was envisioned as a space that transforms an ordinary walk into a gentle performance, allowing the environment to act as a resonating body. Here, sound guides movement, movement creates music, and visitors naturally become co-creators of the sensory narrative.

The design intent was to create a walkable symphony shaped by four guiding ideas : sound, connection, emotion, and interaction. The Musical Maze uses bamboo as its primary medium, integrating subtle metal and water elements that produce soft rhythmic droplets, while carved bamboo reeds catch the wind to create airy notes. Touch–responsive components allow visitors to generate gentle percussive vibrations as they move, turning the maze into a living acoustic landscape that changes with each person who enters.

This sensory path naturally leads to a quiet central space designed for sitting, meditating, and listening to the layered sounds formed by human movement and the surrounding natural elements.

Project Essence
"This installation is not just a structure; it is an experience shaped by interaction, sound, and presence."

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