Anchorage Museum presents cardboard sculptures reminiscent of ice crystals in Frozen Forms exhibition

Anchorage Museum CEO Julie Decker and designer Noa Haim discuss the importance of design as an interactive experience in this exclusive video produced by Dezeen for the museum's latest exhibition.

Titled Frozen Forms, the exhibition explores the influence of Alaska's winter landscape using snow and ice as a motif.

The presentation includes three towering cardboard sculptures evoking ice crystal topologies alongside interactive opportunities for children and families to explore the geometry of snow.

The main installation was a collaboration between Anchorage Museum and  Haim, founder of Netherlands-based design studio Collective Paper Aesthetics, which specialises in interactive installations using modular cardboard components.

"Cardboard is a beautiful material, it allows you to build large-scale structures, and the material is strong, but not that strong," Haim said.

"It is possible, in this case, to reuse the material more than one time and eventually to recycle it."

The wider exhibition was designed to be interactive, with opportunities for children and adults to trace and draw their own ice crystals and build their own cardboard structures while learning about ice crystal geometry.

"Here in Anchorage, we really embrace the idea of design as a way of having conversations, as a way of engaging people, as a way of engaging communities," explained Decker.

"We think of ourselves as a museum of place more than anything, and our job is to tell the stories of the environment, of the people who live here."

Decker explained that snow is an integral part of the culture in Anchorage and it was important for the museum to offer community-building activities for families that come to visit.

"As a museum, we think a lot about storytelling, and we think a lot about the experience," she said.

"When you come here, you discover this amazing culture of do-it-yourself and problem-solving," added Haim. "Everyone can be a designer."

The Anchorage Museum is the largest museum in Alaska and aims to offer a multi-faceted perspective on life in the North.

A full list of upcoming exhibitions can be found on its website.

Frozen Forms is open to the public until 6 April 2025 in Anchorage, Alaska. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

Partnership content

This video was produced by Dezeen for the Anchorage Museum as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen's partnership content here.

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