Earlier this year Sarah Feather Design commissioned us to create a gorgeous 10-metre hanging tree. The tree was to be suspended in the atrium of the London department store Peter Jones.
The tree is a 360-degree centre piece of visual drama in the middle of the store. The idea is that it enhances the shopper’s experience and adds further dimensions to the already immersive John Lewis in-store experience. From the ground floor, the sculpted roots invite the viewer to follow the story to the upper levels. From there, they can become eye level with the tree and its beautiful mimosa foliage and branches.
We fabricated an aluminium tube armature with bolts which could be easily assembled on-site. This was covered in polystyrene and herculite. Once fabricated, it was hand-painted and art worked to create as realistic a tree effect as we could. We added fake dirt and tested various finishes to create the effect of the tree having been pulled out of the earth and hung in the atrium.
As part of the fabrication process, we tested the structure of the tree by hanging it from a crane in our workshop’s yard. This allowed us to make sure it hung straight and true before being delivered to Peter Jones on Sloane Square.
Skilled riggers helped our installation crew to assemble the tree in the store and make it look like it was just hanging in the air with minimal visible wires.
Pretty stunning, don’t you agree?!
Check out the many other immersive installations that Plunge Creations have designed here.