Overview 1 — The Flatland Horse by Studio Deng

Studio Deng turns an equestrian monument into two interactive plywood horses

Two plywood horses turned a corner of Seattle’s Lake Union Park into a place to climb, touch and play at the 2026 Seattle Design Festival. Designed by Studio Deng, The Flatland Horse recasts the equestrian monument as a set of figures with their own identities and public uses.

Gate Horse and Slide Horse were presented during the festival’s IN[FLUX] Block Party on 15 and 16 August. The project was one of the selected installations at the Seattle Design Festival, where visitors could pass through one horse and climb or slide on the other.

Concept Diagram - disassembled Statue & Eight Doubles — The Flatland Horse — Studio Deng’s concept diagram separates the equestrian monument into eight doubles.

Doubles with Public Program — The Flatland Horse — A diagram assigns public programmes to the eight horse doubles.

Physical Model — The Flatland Horse — A physical model studies the form of the eight horse doubles.

Eight doubles recast the equestrian monument

The project begins with a question about the solitary horse and rider cast in bronze as a symbol of civic authority. Studio Deng imagines the figure as an edited composite assembled from many takes: one horse supplies the head, another the tail, another a foreleg. The histories of these unnamed stand-ins disappear when the final monument is made.

The Flatland Horse makes that hidden process visible by separating the composite into eight flattened plywood silhouettes. Each double preserves one body part in soft volume, from a mane to a leg or head, and takes on an everyday role such as a bench, seat, table, gate, slide, mirror, pavilion or toy.

Gate Horse and Slide Horse invite visitors into the work

For the festival, Studio Deng built the first two doubles. Gate Horse spreads its legs to form an archway, framing the Seattle skyline in the opening beneath its body. Passing through the structure turns the familiar act of looking up at a monument into a walk beneath the horse’s stride.

Slide Horse draws on the structural logic of a bridge. A plywood deck spans four leg frames, joining a staircase to a slide. The horse’s lowered head shapes the descent, while its mane forms the side barriers. Seen from a distance, the silhouettes read as horses; up close, their profiles resolve into an abstract assembly of planes.

Overview 2 — The Flatland Horse — Slide Horse sits in the foreground, with Gate Horse beyond.
Photo: Chen Yang

Gate Hoese with skyline — The Flatland Horse — Gate Horse stands against the Seattle skyline.
Photo: Chen Yang

Slide Horse Interaction 1 — The Flatland Horse — Visitors climb and play on the Slide Horse.
Photo: Studio Deng

Slide Horse Interaction 2 — The Flatland Horse — Visitors gather beside Slide Horse at the festival.
Photo: Trevor Dykstra

Slide Horse Interaction 3 — The Flatland Horse — Visitors play on the Slide Horse.
Photo: Studio Deng

Slide Horse Interaction 4 — The Flatland Horse — A visitor climbs the Slide Horse structure.
Photo: Studio Deng

Brown chenille gives selected body parts a soft, shaggy surface against the pale plywood. Over two festival days, thousands of visitors used the installations: children climbed Slide Horse and slid down to its reflective landing pad, while adults sat in the shade beneath it. At Gate Horse, visitors walked through the arch and touched the chenille lining its legs, turning the space between the two structures into a shared play area.

Gate Horse Interaction 1 — The Flatland Horse — A visitor passes through the Gate Horse arch.
Photo: Studio Deng

Gate Horse Interaction 2 — The Flatland Horse — Visitors interact with the chenille-covered legs of Gate Horse.
Photo: Studio Deng

Gate Horse as frame — The Flatland Horse — Gate Horse frames a view of the park through its open silhouette.
Photo: Studio Deng

Interaction with Gate Horse Leg — The Flatland Horse — A visitor touches a chenille-covered Gate Horse leg.
Photo: Studio Deng

Gate Horse Leg 1 — The Flatland Horse — Close-up of a Gate Horse leg and its soft chenille surface.
Photo: Studio Deng

Gate Horse Leg 2 — The Flatland Horse — Plywood and chenille meet at the Gate Horse leg.
Photo: Studio Deng

Birch plywood construction lets the horses travel

The two installations were made from 19-millimetre, 13-ply birch plywood cut and sanded by the team. Slide Horse was assembled from three parts—the slide, central section and stairs—using nails, bolts and L-brackets to speed installation. Chenille was stretched across a waffle-like framework of 13-millimetre foamcore panels attached to the plywood, adding a washable, low-cost layer of softness.

After the festival, the horses were unbolted, flat-packed and reassembled in a courtyard in Issaquah, east of Seattle. The move extends the project’s idea of the monument as something that can be handled, used and carried onward.

Gate Horse Legs 3 — The Flatland Horse — The spread legs form an open passage through Gate Horse.
Photo: Studio Deng

Gate Horse Elevation — The Flatland Horse — Elevation drawing of Gate Horse shows its silhouette.

Gate Horse Side 1 — The Flatland Horse — Side view of Gate Horse shows its open frame.
Photo: Studio Deng

Slide Horse Side 1 — The Flatland Horse — Side view of Slide Horse shows its stairs, raised platform and slide.
Photo: Studio Deng

Gate Horse Assembly Instruction — The Flatland Horse — Assembly instructions for Gate Horse.

Slide Horse Assembly Instruction — The Flatland Horse — Assembly instructions for Slide Horse.

Project Credits

Project: The Flatland Horse
Designer: Studio Deng – Meichen Wang, Yijia Xu, Qicheng Wu, Chen Yang, Fan Wu, Yangyi Li, and Hanlin Cai
Fabrication support: Brad McGuirt & North Ballard Chop Shop
Event: Seattle Design Festival 2026: IN[FLUX]
Location: Lake Union Park, Seattle, Washington, United States
Dates: 15–16 August 2026
Materials: 13-ply birch plywood, chenille and foamcore
Photography: Studio Deng; Chen Yang / @chenchenchenchenchen; Trevor Dykstra / @architecturegeek