The Pavilion of Time
Infinite Time, One Courtyard
Wu Bin × Paris Design Week
First Asian designer to exhibit an artwork at the Domaine
National du Palais-Royal
Wu Bin, founder of W.DESIGN, has been invited by the Ministry of Culture of France·Centre des monuments nationaux to present The Pavilion of Time, a new installation from his Travelogue on Mountains series, at Paris Design Week 2026 (September 10–17). He will be the first Asian designer ever to exhibit in the historic Domaine National du Palais-Royal. On September 13, he will also hold a book launch and signing at La Hune, the legendary Paris art bookshop, for his latest Rizzoli publication, The Design Language of Timeless East.
The Pavilion of Time draws a circle into a courtyard, making time tangible and walkable. Situated in the 17th‑century Domaine National du Palais-Royal beside the Louvre, it occupies a pivotal point on Paris's historic axis. Through reflection, translucency, and transparency, the installation dissolves into its surroundings—sky and passers‑by appear on its surfaces. As one walks its arc and light shifts with the sun, time is felt through movement and pause, responding to the theme "Pulse in Motion": the pulse of time, the step of the human, and the surge of Eastern creativity converging into a single measure.
Within the Pavilion, a circle holds heaven and earth; shadows inscribe the passage of light.
The Pavilion of Time
"Time" renders the shape of time as bodily experience—through shifting sunlight and the rise and fall of footsteps. "Pavilion" is an interface between humanity and nature, where one feels the passage of existence. Infinite time, one courtyard.
Wu Bin defines this as a "courtyard‑like structure" with time as its medium. The circular installation stands within the orthogonal classical architecture of the Domaine National du Palais-Royal, evoking the ancient Chinese concept of "a round heaven and a square earth." The circle, as in the Dao De Jing, represents the formless void of time and cosmos; the square points to the tangible, material world.
This echoes the two attitudes toward time: the West builds in stone to resist erosion; Eastern architecture favours wood, accepting patina, weathering, and decay—a knowing that all returns to nothingness, yet memory is built within that void.
A circle and a square—lightness and weight against historical architecture—leave in Paris a fleeting yet memorable Eastern sojourn through time.
The Sundial
The installation comprises a mirror‑finish material and a translucent paper‑like membrane. A circle is divided into three 120° segments. A traversable circular path runs through the centre, with seating along the periphery inviting pause and rest, allowing time to be perceived through movement and stillness.
The mirror‑finish dissolves the structure's physical presence, absorbing surroundings, sky, and passers‑by; the translucent paper‑like membrane admits light freely, turning the installation into a sundial at the garden's heart. We hope people move continuously—footsteps trace the arc, sunlight drifts through paper and mirror, wandering between ground and structure. Light and shadow become intangible hands, inscribing time's trajectory. Here, time is measured not by clocks, but by light; not in numbers, but through the body's motion and repose.
Pulse in Motion
This year's theme, "Pulse in Motion," speaks to the kinetic energy of imagination in constant flow. In uncertain times, design must respond to the future, reconnecting people and the world. The Pavilion of Time takes this as its impetus, combining Chinese painting's shifting perspective and temporality to let the body perceive spatial and temporal change—infusing international design with new creativity from the East.
Eastern time is not a straight line, but a series of perceivable moments. The experiential path follows four threads: form and space; paper and the East; light and time; object and body.
From a distance, the circular silhouette and timber grid form a quiet order, sharing proportions with M77's "GENSLYN" collection—condensing Eastern ethereality through contemporary scale.
Drawing closer, the translucent paper‑like membrane, laid over timber, bears time's traces and admits light—a misty Chinese sensibility that conveys a free, spiritual expression, evoking the Eastern way of perception where softness reveals strength.
Inside, the mirror reflects the present moment—walking figures, passing light—while also echoing three centuries of the garden's history. The Moorgen lighting system casts delicate light fragments through the paper‑like membrane onto the ground. Between upward and downward gaze, time is inscribed by light and reflection.
After wandering through, one sits on the SHANG XIA carbon fiber chair, its light structure curving with the body and shifting the view. Seated, one watches the arc just walked, light and shadow moving across the paper membrane, and the courtyard making time perceivable. Here, time, space, and body meet in stillness.
Timelessness is Eternity
In The Design Language of Timeless East, Wu Bin writes: "Eastern time is not a linear path, but a fluid, ambiguous experience that can be perceived and revisited. In contrast to the Western pursuit of eternity, Eastern aesthetics emphasises the fleeting, the felt, and the empty. Wind, light, and falling leaves open a 'timeless' aperture in the present—connecting history, memory, and self."
Thus, "momentality is monumentality of the moment" remains the core of the Travelogue on Mountains series. Wu Bin hopes that within the brief exhibition, The Pavilion of Time will carry an Eastern spirit, letting visitors touch art's essence between the linear and cyclical flow of time—freeing themselves from the transient‑eternal opposition, returning to authentic life, and entering a state of "timelessness."
In an age of accelerating technology, Wu Bin and W.DESIGN remain focused on the cultural depth behind materiality. Together with three leading Chinese brands—M77, Moorgen, and SHANG XIA—they present a "pavilion" where time can be gazed upon, perceived, and reclaimed. Light measures walking rhythm in arcs; within the circle, one makes peace with time's passage.
This is the gift of The Pavilion of Time to Paris—and the deeper meaning of "Pulse in Motion": through Eastern wisdom, imagination becomes a capacity to perceive time, offering global design another way of living alongside it.
Location: Domaine National du Palais-Royal
Dates: 10–17 September, 2026
Wu Bin, the founder of W.DESIGN and a renowned designer, has extensive experience in interior, architectural, and product design. He is known for pioneering the " Timeless East " design language. Wu Bin was honored with "Designer of the Year" award at the 24th Andrew Martin International Interior Design Awards, becoming the first designer from mainland China to receive this accolade.
Additionally, Wu Bin has been featured in AD100 by Architectural Digest China for seven consecutive editions, awarded the EDIDA International Design Award as China’s Designer of the Year, Dezeen Interior Designer of the Year, and recognized as one of China’s Top 10 Designers by the China National Interior Decoration Association. He has also been acclaimed by leading Chinese media as "a pioneer of the era."
Artist
Partners Profile
Since 1991, M77 has integrated design, research, and production, with consolidated experience in the luxury hotel industry. In 2014, it entered the custom residential cabinetry segment with the M77 brand, combining Eastern aesthetics and Western techniques to create customized solutions, including doors, paneling, storage systems, and home automation. The Genslyn sub-brand, managed by Wu Bin, interprets the new luxury living experience, offering a contemporary and refined aesthetic.
Founded in 2016, Moorgen Group is a world-leading smart home manufacturer. The company develops more than 1,200 intelligent products capable of local and remote visual control, powered by self-developed bus control technology, wireless control technology, and cloud computing. Moorgen's smart products have won numerous international design awards, including the German Red Dot, German iF, American IDEA, Japan GOOD DESIGN, and the German Red Dot Best of the Best.
SHANG XIA is an Eastern lifestyle brand rooted in craftsmanship, dedicated to reinterpreting traditional Chinese savoir-faire through a contemporary design language.
Guided by a philosophy of balance and continuity, the Maison draws from cultural heritage and distills it into each creation through a repertoire of core techniques, including bamboo marquetry, lacquer, fine porcelain, eggshell lacquer, carbon fiber, and textile craftsmanship. Through this approach, the Maison expresses a way of living, where material, form, and craftsmanship come together in balance.
