Open Burble (2006)

First launched at Singapore Biennale 2006 Opening Ceremony, the Burble brings hundreds of members of the public together to compose, assemble and control an immense 18-storey tall structure that can be seen for miles around.

The Burble has had dozens of incarnations and has appeared at festivals and events around the world. These include Burble London, Burble Dubai, Burble Phish, Control.Burble.Remote in Barcelona, Mini Burble Paris and Mini Burble Salford Quays. Each version is designed and configured for the specific context (e.g. in Barcelona people could interact with it by bringing their TV remote controls; in Paris it was via tablets; in Salford Quays people could tweet to it to effect it in real-time).

Open Burble, Singapore Biennale 2006

One of the world's largest interactive architecture structures, the Burble was originally built from over 1 km of carbon fibre rods and 1 km of Excel D12 high performance sailing rope. The idea behind the project, was to explore how ordinary people could design, build and affect their urban environment at a massive scale, albeit just for one night.

Open Burble, Singapore Biennale 2006

In Singapore's Open Burble, the structure itself was designed by participants – they determined its form and configuration, and therefore how the colours flowed and mixed across the final structure once afloat. As hundreds of people held on to the handlebar below, they were able to 'shake' and 'roll' it to create new colours and patterns that drifted up and around the surface.

Open Burble, Singapore
Open Burble, Singapore
Open Burble, Singapore
Open Burble, Singapore

Burble's massive structure, the form of which the public has themselves designed and controlled, exists at such a large scale that it competes visually in an urban context with the skyscrapers that surround it.

Burble London, 2007
Burble London, 2007
Burble London, 2007
Burble London, 2007


Burble London, 2007


Dubai's Burble in 2009 was designed to be robust and predictable since it was part of a tightly-timed opening ceremony for the World Cup. The system was later redesigned to make touring and reconfiguring much easier, usually manifested as a Mini Burble.

Open Burble simulation experiments