Flight into Shadow explores how light and shadow shape our perception of heat, relief, and comfort in heat-stressed urban environments. At its core is a bold architectural gesture: inviting the sun indoors to create a controlled solar experience, independent of external weather conditions.

Living mycelium structures act as organic filters, forming delicate canopies that soften and scatter light. These structures embody ecological intelligence, allowing shadow to emerge as an active, spatial element, rather than a by-product. Light becomes both subject and medium, revealing the fragile balance between exposure, protection, and perception.

Inspired by the Komorebi effect—the fleeting play of sunlight filtering through leaves—the installation translates this natural phenomenon into an immersive architectural experience. What is usually momentary becomes spatial and tangible, capturing nature’s quiet choreography through form, material, and light.

At the center of the space, a powerful artificial sun composed of individually controlled luminaires generates constantly shifting atmospheres. Visitors move between moments of intense brightness and zones of gentle refuge, experiencing light as a dynamic and living presence. Through a carefully composed choreography, the installation continuously transforms, unfolding a sequence of moods and scenes over time.

Presented during the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 as part of the Keep Cool! – Workshop for Cool Cities, Flight into Shadow is a collaborative project between HFT Stuttgart Interior Architecture, University of Stuttgart (IBK2), and Deggendorf Institute of Technology. The installation invites visitors to reflect on strategies of adaptation and coexistence in a climate-changing world, proposing shadow, material intelligence, and perception as key tools for shaping more resilient environments.