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Set along Wilshire Boulevard, the event placed two systems into conversation. The David Geffen Galleries extend horizontally in sand-toned concrete, forming a continuous elevated plane across the site. Above it, DRIFT\u2019s formation of illuminated drones moved through the evening air, shifting in density and direction. One holds its position through mass and structure, the other through motion and coordination.<\/p>\n
![\"drift](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DRIFT-franchise-freedom-LACMA-designboom-02.jpg\")
images \u00a9 Pablo Garcia, Albert Azouz, Bo Bridges, Complex Aerial, Davis Huber, Dillon Harmon, Elias Posada, Jake Howard, Joshua Ewalt, Mark Christian, Patrick Coyne, Pedro Castro, Sammie Saing, William Teets<\/p>\n
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drift learns from starling murmurations<\/p>\n
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Franchise Freedom, which showed over LACMA<\/a> this past weekend, builds on more than two decades of research by DRIFT<\/a>\u00a0into starling murmurations. Each drone responds to its neighbors through a shared set of behavioral rules, producing patterns that remain fluid yet legible. The formation expands, compresses, and redirects, creating a field that is constantly reorganizing itself without a fixed center.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n This logic finds a parallel in the architecture below. The David Geffen Galleries propose a horizontal organization where curatorial departments occupy a continuous plane. Circulation flows across the building without a dominant axis, distributing attention evenly across exhibitions. Spatial hierarchy gives way to adjacency, and the building operates as a network rather than a sequence.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n shared intelligence by over 1,000 drones<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The alignment between the installation by DRIFT and the new LACMA galleries becomes clear in how each defines structure. In DRIFT\u2019s work, no single drone directs the composition. Form emerges through proximity and response, with each unit maintaining awareness of the group. The visual effect depends on this shared intelligence, where cohesion is maintained without central control.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The galleries apply a similar principle at an architectural scale. By flattening the institutional layout, the design places different collections in direct relation. Movement across the building is continuous, allowing visitors to construct their own paths. The spatial experience is shaped through connections rather than thresholds.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n project info:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n name:\u00a0Franchise Freedom<\/p>\n artist:\u00a0DRIFT<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0@studio.drift<\/a>\u00a0(Lonneke Gordijn & Ralph Nauta)<\/p>\n museum: LACMA<\/a> | @lacma<\/a><\/p>\n location: Los Angeles, California<\/p>\n date:\u00a0April 18th, 2026<\/p>\n photography, video:\u00a0Pablo Garcia, Albert Azouz, Bo Bridges, Complex Aerial, Davis Huber, Dillon Harmon, Elias Posada, Jake Howard, Joshua Ewalt, Mark Christian, Patrick Coyne, Pedro Castro, Sammie Saing, William Teets<\/p>\n![\"drift](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DRIFT-franchise-freedom-LACMA-designboom-01.jpg\")
the drone formation moves as a coordinated field of light above the museum<\/p>\n![\"drift](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DRIFT-franchise-freedom-LACMA-designboom-03.jpg\")
the performance draws from research into starling murmurations<\/p>\n