Mirage in Yumeshima by PONDEDGE & f a r m

Mirage in Yumeshima, designed by PONDEDGE in collaboration with f a r m, is a public restroom created for the EXPO 2025. Situated within a plaza surrounded by iconic architectural landmarks, the project addresses the challenge of creating a structure that does not compete with its surroundings, but rather recedes into the background, allowing the phenomena of the environment—light, shadow, reflection, and movement—to take center stage. Rather than asserting itself as a dominant form, the restroom operates as an architecture of subtle presence, where the space emerges through its interaction with context rather than through self-expression alone.

The design engages with the plaza’s openness, aiming to balance visibility and privacy, light and enclosure, permanence and transience. In this way, Mirage in Yumeshima is not only functional, but also a spatial meditation on perception, where the boundaries between built form and natural phenomena are deliberately blurred. The project embodies a philosophy that architecture can be observed through absence as much as presence, allowing the surrounding environment and cultural experience of the EXPO to define the visitor’s perception of the structure.

Architectural Design

The architectural language of Mirage in Yumeshima is rooted in adaptability, modularity, and material experimentation. Its plan unfolds in a web-like configuration, radiating from a central circulation spine and allowing flexibility in both movement and spatial experience. Affixed to the steel frame are 3D-printed polycarbonate panels, which follow the circular axis of the building while responding to subtle dimensional shifts and variations in curvature. Unlike conventional restroom structures that often appear closed or self-contained, the project embraces openness while maintaining carefully calibrated privacy zones.

The decision to use a panelized 3D-printed system was a deliberate extension of conventional construction methods, rather than an exploration of 3D printing as an autonomous architectural medium. Each panel was digitally fabricated to accommodate complex geometries while remaining structurally coherent. The panels’ wave-like form introduces organic undulations, which distort light and shadow in unpredictable yet intentional ways. These distortions, inherent to the 3D-printing process, were embraced as expressive features, enriching the building’s surface texture and reflecting its conceptual focus on impermanence and environmental dialogue.

The perimeter panels are specifically designed to obscure the roofline, creating a continuous envelope that appears to float above the plaza. While polycarbonate panels dominate the circular exterior, radial elements such as low partitions and walls are clad in Galvalume steel sheets, providing a subtle metallic reflectivity that harmonizes with the soft translucency of the polycarbonate. This combination of materials allows the structure to capture ambient light and mirror its surroundings, creating the effect of a mirage hovering above the site, particularly under changing daylight conditions.

Internally, the ceilings are composed of soft aluminum insulation, producing a diffused, gentle glow that enhances the luminous quality of the polycarbonate walls. In the accessible restroom, dual-layered 3D-printed walls generate a full-height luminous plane, creating a spatial experience that is simultaneously protective and expansive. Natural light penetrates the interior, interacting with the reflective surfaces to produce subtle shifts in brightness and color, making the act of passing through the building a contemplative sensory experience.

Cultural Storytelling

Mirage in Yumeshima transcends its utilitarian function, becoming a symbol of transience, light, and interaction with the environment. The structure’s ethereal presence evokes imagery of a mirage—appearing only temporarily, yet leaving a lasting impression on visitors. This conceptual approach resonates with the broader goals of the EXPO, which celebrates innovation, cultural exchange, and the dynamic relationship between human activity and the natural environment.

By using cutting-edge fabrication technologies alongside traditional architectural logic, the project tells a story of adaptation and responsiveness. The 3D-printed panels act as a narrative device, capturing and refracting the plaza’s light while simultaneously reflecting the surrounding cultural landmarks. Visitors experience the building not as a static object, but as a temporal phenomenon, shifting in appearance throughout the day and in dialogue with weather, light, and movement. The restroom’s impermanence emphasizes the ephemeral nature of architectural experience, encouraging observers to perceive beauty in moments of transience and subtle engagement.

The integration of reflective and translucent materials enhances this narrative by making the building simultaneously present and absent, tangible and illusory. The project is a study in architectural humility, where form, materiality, and spatial organization are secondary to phenomena and perception. In doing so, it frames a cultural dialogue about human interaction with the urban environment, demonstrating that architecture can guide experience without dominating it.

Spatial Experience

The combination of circular spatial planning, luminous polycarbonate panels, and reflective steel surfaces creates a restroom that feels simultaneously protective and open. Circulation within the building flows organically, guided by the radial geometry of the layout and the soft glow of the materials. Users encounter spaces that respond to both functional needs and sensory experience, blurring the line between architecture and environment.

The Mirage in Yumeshima becomes not only a service facility but also a poetic interface between humans and the urban landscape. Its presence encourages visitors to notice contextual phenomena—shifting shadows, the play of reflections, and the rhythm of movement—transforming a routine act into a moment of aesthetic awareness.

Conclusion

Mirage in Yumeshima exemplifies an architecture of subtlety, experimentation, and cultural engagement. Through its 3D-printed polycarbonate panels, reflective steel surfaces, and luminous interior, the project transforms a simple public restroom into a temporary, poetic installation that celebrates light, perception, and environmental context. Positioned as both functional infrastructure and ephemeral artwork, it challenges conventional notions of permanence, encouraging visitors to perceive architecture as an active dialogue with the world around them. Veiled in transient light and spatial nuance, Mirage in Yumeshima truly evokes the fleeting beauty of a mirage above the island.

Photography: Yu Suzuki