Beauty of nature captured in glass: The Swoop

Sometimes fascinating things happen without us noticing, like when a seagull swoops down to pick up its food from the water. Many years ago, UeliPrager – Mövenpick founder – managed to capture this moment in nature, and now you can watch it over and over again in the lobby of Grand Plaza Mövenpick Media City in Dubai. The Czech design and glass-making company LASVIT has managed to materialize the essence of the movement of the seagull flying towards its prey into the glass sculpture.

The “Swoop” as the designer Kateřina Handlová named her creation, is inspired by the fast, but still focused, flight of the bird. However, if you stop and think out of the box, you can see the strength of nature in the beauty of glass. You can see the dramatic situation, when a bird is hunting its prey, as well as the romantic view on the beach when the sun is going down and the wind is picking up the sand in small swirls. 

“The installation aims to express the mood of the dawn when the flock of the birds fly up to the sky within the whirl of the sand on the sea shore, the movement and the sun rays reflections”

Kateřina Handlová, the creator of the “Swoop” design from LASVIT

The lowest point of the Swoop, symbolizing the point, when the seagull hits the water surface, is just about 2-3 meters from the reach of the visitors. “As the glass components are floating and dancing through the space, they are creating the light and sparkling ambience,” says the talented young designer. 

The light and sparkling ambience starts in the lobby and leads the visitors through the whole space as they head up to the upper levels of Grand Plaza Mövenpick Media City. The colors of the installation comply with the mood of Dubai – the desert under a blazing sun, the moment when the Sun rises on the horizon and climbs up to welcome a new day. The swirl is composed from clear, amber and champagne components finished with soda and mica effects which contrast perfectly with the interior solid materials such as metal and stone.

The 23-meters final installation consists of more than 3 500 pieces of crystal glass. Each piece is handblown, which means that glassblowers had to make the same shape again and again while keeping the overall design still in mind.

For an even more dynamic feeling, the installation is dynamically lit, and the light goes through it in several scenarios. “Due to the dynamic lighting scenes, the sculpture changes its look during the day and night in order to create a truly surprising and spectacular experience,” the designer adds. Sometimes it illustrates the calm flight over the water and sometimes the swooping aimed flight. The lighting has the power to change the mood of the place and each day is different. 

Thanks to LASVIT and Grand Plaza Mövenpick Media City, you can feel like you are standing in the center of the flock and the wind is whiffling around your ears.