House of Today is a non-profit organization committed to cultivating a sustainable design ecosystem in Lebanon that transcends international borders. For over a decade, the organization’s overarching aim is to strengthen dialogues in the design world, expanding the reach of contemporary Lebanese designers and their creative processes, through mentoring, educating, curating collections and nurturing connections.
The Wind Portal
Najla El Zein
392 cm × 158 cm × 800 cm (Height)
Paper — composed of approximately 5,000 paper windmills
As part of the London Design Festival 2013, the installation The Wind Portal was commissioned by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It’s an 8-metre-high, walk-through artwork formed from 5,000 hand-folded paper windmills, each attached to a structure in an imposing doorway at the museum. The piece was designed to create a transitional sensory experience between two gallery spaces, letting visitors feel, see and hear the movement of wind and light as the pinwheels spin in programmed airflows. The installation employed a combination of handcrafted elements, integrated wind systems, and lighting effects to give the work a dynamic, almost “breathing” quality, drawing wind and light through the space as people moved through it.
Beirut, Lebanon
