The MAZE, COORDINATION ASIA at the Shanghai Glass Museum

The creative team from COORDINATION ASIA and the Shanghai Glass Museum continue their collaboration with a new installation in the museum's design wing: the MAZE, an indoor attraction comprised of mirrors and lights to form infinite illusions.



Award-winning design and architecture agency COORDINATION ASIA joined forces with the management of the Shanghai Museum of Glass Park in 2011. This collaboration resulted in the iconic Shanghai Museum of Glass, later expanded with the Kids Museum of Glass, Rainbow Chapel, and many other points of interest.  





Tilman Thürmer, founder of COORDINATION ASIA, joined the Park’s permanent team as Vice President and Design Director and is the name behind this latest attraction, now an established alternative cultural hub in Shanghai's vibrant creative scene. 



The MAZE is a modern take on the old puzzle. Because it has always been a major theme in both art and literature, COORDINATION ASIA aims to offer a different experience by using glass, as Tilman Thürmer explains: “We wanted to create a playground that still fit the Shanghai Museum of Glass Park world. We didn’t want it to be like other mazes where everything looks the same – the use of glass and mirrors make this a different experience entirely.”



Inside an area of 575 sq m, cubicles of glass challenge visitors to find their way as they wander in and out. With 318 panels made up of patterned black mirror glass, mirrors, and transparent glass the design utilises dark, moody lighting for an illuminated and haunted look. A nature soundscape changes throughout different sections of the maze disorients the senses even more.





Visitors can also play a game that requires them to find the eight different geometric shapes featured on the game card they can pick up when they enter the maze. Of course, finding those shapes is particularly challenging because they are all reflected in light, but when they do, they stamp each shape with the relevant embossing press, providing an incentive to explore every corner of the installation.



The MAZE adds even more magic to what is already a major attraction, stressing the multifaceted nature of COORDINATION ASIA, from the interior design to the lettering on the stamps, to invite visitors into an infinite, parallel world, all with “analogue” media!

Christiane Bürklein

Project: COORDINATION ASIA
Location: Shanghai Museum of Glass Park, Shanghai 
Year: 2016
Photo Credits
Interior shorts: COORDINATION ASIA
Model shots: Nina Chen