Visual Candy #1
Fresh undecorated pine trees are captured by tall gold trumpets, the scent of pine is overbearing, 1.5 million people stop to touch and smell the pine trees in disbelief that they are ‘real’. Our brief was to create a redefined and inspirational Christmas experience for an audience of 1.5m shoppers over a 4 week period. Visual drama was created by 8 super tall fresh pine trees, gold metal trumpet stands that encase and hold the trees on a sloping floor.
The base structures create water storage for the trees as well as seating benches for people to sit and touch the trees, experience the forests natural scent and listen to an uplifting sound scape of forest birds chirping.
The idea of non decorated trees gave our forest a modern edge and focused on their inherent natural beauty. The decorative elements of the project are super scaled and graphic like unlike the delicate baubles of a traditional tree decoration.
The trumpets are made of spun aluminium that fit neatly into steel base poles, the bulbous lights decorated with finely laser cut brass halos.
The decorated based infrastructure that holds each 250 kg trees safely is the key creative and structural efficiency of the forest and is designed to be reused in coming years, the used trees were returned to the earth at the farm were they were grown closing our sustainable cycle.
As retailers strive to create memorable experiences for their audiences, The Living Forest is an antidote to the predictable faux Christmas trees and decorations that abound at this time .
Its excellence is derived from it’s modern sensory drama and alternate view of what a Christmas decoration might be, both form and function working in equal parts to create a new kind of experience for the audience.
Social media now forms an integral part of the design experience for this type of installation, customers want to share their experiences with their friends. The photographic imagery that flows from an activation like this must be eminently sharable. The excitement of the customer experience is now measured through social media channels and The Living Forest is a ground breaking example of how designers can reimagine traditional celebrations with a new inspired view.
The most innovative aspects of this temporary project lie in its equal parts of form and function. Its beautiful golden metal trumpet poles hide their hidden function, its surprising beauty and all encompassing sensory elements envelope and delight the audience. Every element of this project has a second use, no part is wasted and yet is fresh each year .
Collaborators:
Construction by Staging Rentals
Signage by Wojo Signs
Photography by Marcel Aucar
