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Do you remember what it felt like to go on the swings as a child? This humble playground staple is capable of brining joy back into the lives of all ages, reviving the favourite feeling of childhood when one felt they could fly into the sky.

As part of this year’s Design Miami, Chilean studio GT2P, which is short for Great Things to People,  has designed a swing-like temporary installation. Named Conscious Actions, the structure is conceived as a representation of the impact of human actions on the world.

The green swings contrast the wave-like cover made of red slats, which ripples as the swings move. All the elements were laser-cut out of steel, powder-coated and included “little notches” to make assembly easier. Although the main components of the installation, such as the columns, beams and suspension system, were welded together, the studio claims it will still be possible to disassemble the structure and build it elsewhere.

It is also curious that due to the pandemic restrictions, Santiago-based studio had to work remotely (via Zoom and Whatsapp) with its construction partners, including their construction partners, and has still been unable to see the project since it was built. They can only watch adults and children using the installation via social media, such as Instagram and TikTok.

Conscious Actions opened to the public to coincide with this year’s Design Miami and will remain open until January.

Aiming to demonstrate how design can be used to form a more responsible relationship with nature, Mexican designer Gerardo Osio has woven the living branches of a weeping willow tree together to form a swing-like seat along the Dommel river in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. He developed the project, called Weeping Seat, as a student on the GEO-Design Master’s course at Design Academy Eindhoven under the guidance of design duo Formafantasma and Lenneke Langenhuijsen, co-founder of Dutch studio Buro Belén.

The designer has chosen willow as the main material for his project because it is a species native to the Netehrlands and plays a key role in the region’s ecosystem. Assisted by local basket weaver Mieke Langenhuizen, the designer formed the seat using the living branches of a white weeping willow tree growing along the Dommel river and harvested Belgium red willow twigs, which are commonly used in basket-making.

The designer expects that this solution will result in the tree producing more tissues to make the swing stronger, because of the stress of the weight experienced by the tree and because of the fact that the living branches woven into the seat will keep growing.

The interactive installation by Melbourne-based art and technology studio ENESS comprises an arrangement of three light-emitting swings, adorned with retro spaceships creating mysterious UFO radiance. The structure by the Brisbane river, nostalgically named I Believe as a reference to the 60s which its excitement over the fact of possible existence of extraterrestrial living forms, is equipped by sensors that animate the lights along the UFO beam and neon-lit messages, out to the broader universe.

The metaphoric message elevates the well-known playground unit employing it with the new statement – about the cosmic and the inexplicable. The team hopes to encourage the public to turn their minds to the big questions and mysteries of life.