‘Exsalted’ installation explores geometry and light through 3D printing

Future-thinking architecture and design studio DEOND, founded by designer Ross Lovegrove and artist Ila Colombo, is preparing to unveil its latest work at Dubai Design Week 2025: a large-scale installation called Exsalted, which explores the relationship between geometry, light, material and the senses through robotic 3D printing. 

The project, which is supported by global fragrance leader MANE, is interested in creating a sensory experience for visitors, one that—like perfume—has multiple levels and a sense of ephemerality. In practice, this was achieved by leveraging parametric design to create a unique geometry of continuous triangulated modules that unfold into a complex, origami-like structure. DEOND has also likened the effect of the printed structures and joints to crystallized shells or salt minerals.

“Working with MANE Dubai was an opportunity to merge the sensorial and the structural,” said Ila Colombo, co-founder of DEOND. “Their world of scent and essence inspired us to design a space that breathes — one that carries the same ephemeral intensity as a fragrance. There are the top notes, where form first captivates through geometry and light; the heart notes, where material and texture begin to breathe and reveal emotion; and the base notes, where structure lingers, anchoring the memory of space long after you leave it. Architecture, like scent, exists beyond the moment, it remains within us as an invisible trace.”

The printed structure itself is made from recycled plastic and over 98% of the entire installation was produced using a robotic 3D printing solution. From the exterior, the Exsalted installation can be likened to a crystalline cluster, with its translucent structure almost appearing to shimmer. From the inside, DEOND describes the architectural atmosphere as one “almost suspended”, with a refracted, mineral-like effect.

In the spirit of ephemerality, Exsalted is also designed to be easily disassembled and reassembled, facilitating transportation and its re-use. MANE has also contributed “subtle olfactory notes” to the installation, which are inspired by “sea salt, childhood memories and mineral landscape.” This fragrance extends the experience of Exsalted to more senses and deepens the level of immersion for visitors.

The project is in line with DEOND’s overall interest in developing futuristic, sustainable environments using cutting-edge design and fabrication technologies. Last year, the studio, which was founded in 2023, presented its Enfold installation at Dubai Design Week, a parametric structure made out of cardboard designed to shape light in interesting ways. Other projects include a paper-based installation inspired by tree canopies and an in-progress architectural concept for a 3D printed eco-retreat.

Lovegrove, of course, is a prolific designer in the world of 3D printing, having designed limited edition fragrance bottles for Formula One and, most recently, collaborating with Google DeepMind on a 3D printed chair designed by an AI model trained on his work.

You can see DEOND’s Exsalted pavilion at Dubai Design Week from November 4 to 9, 2025. The 3D printed installation will be located near the waterfront in the Dubai Design District (d3), between buildings nine and ten.