# The enchantment of labyrinths: turning disorientation into play

Labyrinths offer an escape from reality through purposeless wandering.

- **Source:** [design archives | designboom | architecture & design magazine](https://brifing.si/source/11868f8d-1e20-41ac-bc2d-8c5af32d721b)
- **Published:** 2026-07-17
- **Topic:** [Design & UX](https://brifing.si/c/design)
- **Original article:** <https://www.designboom.com/design/useless-path-labyrinths-disorientation-play-maze-spiral-jetty-borges/>
- **On Brifing:** https://brifing.si/s/ca461d90-b507-4ead-9217-9478a60e9f0d

## Getting lost in Spiral Jetty

Robert Smithson's iconic Spiral Jetty in Great Salt Lake invites visitors to lose their sense of direction by walking a single winding path. This seemingly simple outdoor labyrinth transforms reality perception when combined with the vast surrounding landscape.

## The joy of inefficient routes

Unlike corridors that provide the shortest path between rooms, labyrinths transform movement itself into experience. While the destination becomes secondary, the winding paths turn walking into pure play.

## Labyrinth vs maze difference

Contrary to popular confusion, labyrinths (single-path) and mazes (multiple-choice) offer distinct experiences. Labyrinths create meditative rhythm while mazes emphasize decision-making and exploration.

## From medieval to modern art

From religious rituals on cathedral floors to Alice Aycock and Robert Morris's 1970s contemporary artworks, labyrinths have redefined human-space relationships. Morris's gallery labyrinth transformed art into a step-by-step journey.

## Rebirth of Borges Labyrinth

The restored Borges Labyrinth in Venice, technically a maze, is filled with symbols reflecting the writer's literary world. Visitors enjoy getting lost in these green corridors that form an open book shape from above.

## Giant bamboo labyrinth

Franco Maria Ricci's Labirinto della Masone in Fontanellato, made of 300,000 bamboo plants, is a true maze with a star-shaped design. Wandering among bamboos reaching 15 meters offers Borges' imagined experience of getting lost.

## Poetic transformation of space

Labyrinths transform architecture into poetry, disconnecting us from life's rush. These temporary worlds where orientation is suspended offer unique spaces for self-reflection.

## Deep philosophy of play

Labyrinths remind us of the value of the useless. These walks without practical purpose help us rediscover something forgotten in modern world: the joy of pure being.

## Sources covering this story

- https://www.designboom.com/design/useless-path-labyrinths-disorientation-play-maze-spiral-jetty-borges/ — 

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_Summary written by Brifing from the original reporting. Copyright in the original article belongs to its publisher; read the full piece at the link above._