Nature Contained – A Practice-led Art Project: Within the Principles of Ikebana and on the Nature of Harmony

Abstract

This research redefines unity between art, design and urban architecture, and wellbeing as an active reconciliation and conscious construction. The findings resonate with contemporary creative practices prioritizing audience engagement. A practice-led and process driven design/art project, it explores the notion of harmony through the Japanese Zen of Ikebana (flower arrangement) and Chasitsu (Tea room). Situated in Bangkok, the process incorporates cross-cultural interactions between Thai business life and Japanese meditative traditions. The methodology re-traces Ikebana flowers into static lines of a steel sculpture. Placed within a furniture design showroom’s internal courtyard, the installation is activated dialogically through a survey that probes the harmony between buildings and people. The findings reveal that the living sculpture of a tree or a large-scale flower arrangement enhances better wellbeing in the urban dweller. A dialectal interplay between the rapid pace of life operating commercial spaces contrasts with a fundamental human longing for something timeless and natural beyond business and the ephemeral.