How do we navigate a world saturated with images, objects, and overproduction? For the Swiss audiovisual collective Encor Studio, the answer lies in subtraction. By masterfully using light and shadow, they create spaces that capture the still and fleeting moments of memory.

Founded in 2016 by Mirko Eremita, David Houncheringer, Manuel Oberholzer, and Valerio Spoletini, the group noticed a trend in contemporary work: a constant impulse to "add"—more light, more elements, more eye-catching details. Drawing on decades of shared craft and aesthetic sensitivity, they chose to move in the opposite direction. They confront our overly busy world with reduction, believing that once the excess is stripped away, the essential flashes of light, atmosphere, and energy that remain are not only clearer but also create more room for an audience to think and feel.

"Subtraction" is both a method and a philosophy for the studio, but it is often more difficult than “addition”. As Encor Studio explains, “For us, subtraction does not mean doing less; it means achieving pinpoint precision.” They continue, “When unnecessary elements are removed, the light, air, and sound that remain become the focus. The act of stripping away reveals the essence hidden beneath the noise. Minimalism isn’t the goal; it’s the condition that allows depth to emerge.”

Have you ever had a rush of memories triggered by a fleeting scent? These sensory experiences are often the starting point for Encor Studio’s projects—a brief tactile impression, a fragment of memory, or a specific quality of light. From there, a concept takes shape, followed by a search for the right technologies and materials. Their palette is often limited to just a few materials, light, and open space, yet from these simple components, they build surprisingly complex worlds.

For their installation Adsum, they used ten suspended panels of electrochromic glass to create a layered field of light. As the glass slowly transitioned to full transparency, only an expanding halo of light remained. Versions of the work have appeared everywhere from Art Basel Miami Beach to a SWISS International Air Lines safety video, where it was seen by millions.

The idea of the “collective” is central to Encor Studio’s practice. Their large-scale installations, like the stunning light projection on the façade of the Burj Khalifa, are designed as collective experiences. Many are the result of brand collaborations with the likes of Mercedes, Omega, Cartier, and FIFA. “Our projects are collective experiences, crafted through a network of collaborators,” they note. At the same time, each piece is deeply personal. “Every work presents different facets depending on the time, place, and the viewer’s state of mind. Its story is ultimately written by each person who experiences it.”

Among Encor Studio’s most well-known works is the Subtractive Series, an evolving collection that turns architecture into an interactive canvas. ALCOVE LTD places a freestanding, transparent shipping container in public spaces, its constant flickering challenging the perceptions of passersby. Meanwhile, ALCOVE IN SITU transforms existing architectural spaces, making the familiar feel shimmering and elusive. Echoing Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, the work explores involuntary memory and the nature of time itself. After transforming a museum façade in Denmark, this elegant, ineffable installation now arrives at PMQ for deTour 2025 design festival: The Shape of Yearning.

At deTour 2025, the installation will cover PMQ’s atrium glass curtain wall with electrochromic film. Through carefully choreographed lighting, the glass surface will shift between misty and crystalline states, alternately revealing and concealing the world outside. As the building’s skin becomes a breathing, living membrane, the important moments hidden in the corners of our memory can reemerge, reminding us to value what we so often overlook. Encor Studio believes that concealment and revelation are equally powerful forces. By filtering or veiling light, they make the surrounding architecture and environment integral to the work—an approach especially fitting for Hong Kong. “Hong Kong is a city defined by light, density, and rhythm,” the studio observes. “This gives the work a new sense of time. While reflecting the city’s pulse, it also provides a moment of calm—a still space amid relentless motion.”

While their goal of exploring the limits of memory and perception is open-ended, the creative process is executed with surgical precision. Every component is deliberate: materials, timing, and logistics are all optimized for minimal energy use. This sustainable method is a direct response to our era of overconsumption.

“Awareness of energy guides every decision. Our biggest challenge is to make the technique invisible. We want audiences to experience transformation without noticing the machinery behind it—the energy is present but silent, allowing function, poetry, and efficiency to coexist. Maintaining this balance is difficult because the temptation to ‘add’ is constant. Creativity helps us resist that impulse, encouraging us to consider how fewer resources can create more space for perception. Practically, this often means developing our own operating systems and customizing materials, rather than relying on standardized solutions.”

In a future where AI will increasingly shape our perceptions, Encor Studio’s focus on the human element feels more relevant than ever. “In an era dominated by algorithms and auto-generated images, we aim to preserve the intangible aspects of a work—its atmosphere, its pauses, and its vivid moments. AI can interpret and analyze, but our focus is on human perception and the in-between states that machines can’t fully reproduce: hesitation, imperfection, and even mistakes that carry warmth.”

This kind of irreplaceable experience may be the most vital art form of our time. Without any prerequisites, we are all invited to engage with Encor Studio’s gesture to Hong Kong.

“We hope to offer audiences a moment of pause—to slow their perception and make light tangible. ALCOVE IN SITU invites viewers to observe the delicate shift between the visible and the elusive, between the city and the individual. If visitors leave with a heightened awareness of light, silence, and their own presence in time, the piece will have achieved its goal.”

deTour 2025 – design festival

The Shape of Yearning

Date｜2025.11.28 - 12.07

Time｜11:00 - 20:00

Venue｜PMQ

Detail ｜https://main.detour.hk/en-us