Photograph: Courtesy Of Deide Von Schaewen

Usually, visitors to the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum get to view only finished products. But starting Saturday 17, they can see objects both functional and sculptural come to life as part of GlassLAB, a mobile glassblowing studio stationed at the UES institution until June 3. Each day, designers from different disciplines will approach the malleable medium and sketch plans for a team from the Corning Museum of Glass to carry out. (Francisco Costa of Calvin Klein, architect Paul Haigh and Kidrobot’s Chad Phillips are all scheduled to participate.)

The 18-day event is situated in the Cooper-Hewitt’s lush garden, but Corning Museum spokesperson Rob Cassetti says working with hot glass is no picnic. “It’s very tiring. The material is constantly moving and you have to make all these decisions on the fly.”

While innovative creations—like industrial designer Matali Crasset’s elegant balloon forms from the GlassLAB studio at last year’s Design Miami—are sure to impress, it’s process, not product, that’s the main attraction. “I consider it more performance art than an actual design project,” says Laurene Boym, whose dramatic presentation in Miami with husband Constantin involved smashing glass and attaching the resultant shards to separate vessels. “You’re trying to work through this process onstage and all these people are watching. It’s almost like you’re naked up there.”

GlassLAB runs Sat 17–Jun 3 in the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum’s Ross Terrace and Garden.