Blue Forest

Blue Forest - Nissan Design Creative Studios, exterior courtyard; Farmington Hills, Detroit, USA

"The branches are painted sky-blue to become a barometer for subtle fluctuations in natural light -- and ultimately draw attention to the deep blue sky above."

Left: The shadows of the branches animate the space. Right: View into the courtyard from the interiors of the building.

Words from the Designer

"After completing the Lipstick Forest at the Palais des Congres as a forest of trees without branches, we proposed its complement in Detroit - a forest of trees without trunks."

The fiberglass branches reproduce the sensation of a giant forest canopy.

"At Nissan's newly expanded creative studio complex, we were commissioned to construct a garden in an exterior courtyard, the building's key moment of contact with the exterior. We wanted to keep the ground open for receptions, displays, and employee use - so we created a suspended garden of tree branches, hovering above the space. The branches reproduce the sensation of a giant forest canopy, artificially bringing the feeling of nature inside, year-round."

Credits

• Text: Courtesy, the landscape architect
• Photographs by Francois Farion
• Compiled and edited by Mitesh Saraf