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Seagulls and the desert

Glass sculpture captures the beauty of birds in flight.

Just beyond reach, more than 3,500 handblown glass crystals soar 23 meters through the lobby of the Grand Plaza Movenpick Media City in Dubai. Swoop captures an image of a seagull swooping down from the sky to capture its food from the water that formed a lasting impression on Movenpick’s founder Ueli Prager.

Designed by Katerina Handlova, the dynamic cascade of Czech glass imagines the fast, focused flight of the bird hunting its prey, as well as the romantic view of the beach when the sun is setting in the west and the wind is creating small swirls in the sand.

Dynamic lighting changes the mood of the sculpture as it follows the bird’s journey from a calm flight over the water to dramatic swooping. “Due to the dynamic lighting scenes, the sculpture changes its look during the day and night in order to create a truly spectacular experience,” says Handlova.

Created and installed by the Czech glassmaking and design company LASVIT, Swoop recreates the force of nature through the beauty of glass.

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