The Precision of a Poet

The author of novels Lolita and Pale Fire has always admired the mysteries of mimicry and the changeability of nature. LASVIT designer Michaela Mertlová created glass butterflies with special colour textures to make each piece as unique as possible.

The Imagination of a Scientist

The cold industrial stone facades are brightened up by dozens of butterflies flying over more than eight meters - from the entrance to the lift. Walk in and follow this glass fantasy...

The story behind the light

The Story of the Sketch

“The charming flickering flight of butterflies and the beauty of their wings is captured in this installation. Each butterfly is created from two separate wings to achieve an abstract form,” says their designer Michaela Mertlová.

Butterfly Wings

Nabokov discovered and described a rare butterfly species - the Karner Blue. That´s why blue is one of the colors used in this installation. These fragile crystal creatures are made of flat glass with hand-made colored texture.

Manufacturing

There are 57 pairs of wings in the lobby. The components are truly difficult to make and their shape had to be changed ten times before perfection was achieved.

The Mysteries of Mimicry

„I discovered in nature the nonutilitarian delights that I sought in art. Both were a form of magic, both were a game of intricate enchantment and deception,“ wrote Nabokov in his memoirs. The kaleidoscope of glass butterflies in the Nabokov residence honours his legacy.