For Toronto-based architect Philip Beesley, architecture has the capacity to be a living and moving entity that can sense a human's needs and emotions — and even react to them. To this end, Beesley and his team of collaborators (which includes artists, scientists and engineers) work with technology and the most fragile of materials to design and create everything from large-scale immersive installations to responsive fabrics for haute couture fashion.

This October, Beesley brought his boundless imagination and skills to Nuit Blanche Toronto — the city's all-night exhibition of contemporary art — where he transformed its city hall rotunda into an immersive dark ocean of recycled textiles and floating LED lights.