Tom Price, PP Trysting Tree, 2012, London, UK.

Bloomberg
City Gate House
39 – 45 Finsbury Square London EC2A 1HD

Tom Price’s PP Trysting Tree, a semi permanent installation through four meeting rooms, explores the dialogue of unnatural nature using Bloomberg’s own waste materials. Boughs made from polypropylene pipe and nylon cable ties hang over a glossy black table and seating module whose surface is inlaid with discarded computer screens. The work which mimics the poetry and transience of the natural world is the latest in a series of specially commissioned art and design projects that bring the best of emerging design talent into the heart of Bloomberg’s London office. Transparency is a design guideline at Bloomberg, both in architectural design and as a core principle. Glass-walled conference rooms offer clear views, both inside and out, encouraging learning, inclusiveness and interaction everywhere. Embracing this philosophy Tom Price sought to take it a step further by allowing the tree and tables to flow through all four rooms, almost ignoring the glass dividing walls. The effect visually unifies the rooms and from certain vantages it is difficult to see where one room ends and another begins. Historically, trysting trees are places to gather and meet prior to battle, during a hunt or simply to debate. Latterly they became more commonly known as a rendezvous for lovers. Encircled by tables and stools, the tree sits at the convergence of the four rooms creating a welcoming hub for face-to-face discussion or remote meetings via computer. The latter brings people into the rooms from across the globe and enhances the sense of this being a place for meeting in the 21st century. Blossom from the tree, visible through illuminated windows in the tables has been assimilated into the technology of the environment. Refracted by lenses and screens sourced from discarded Bloomberg computer monitors, the almost holographic appearance of the blossom bridges the gap between the physical and the virtual. The tree is not intended to be an accurate representation of natural forms, but is designed to evoke an atmosphere similar to what one might experience witnessing a cherry tree in full bloom. The white tubular plastic tree grows and stretches across the internal glass dividing walls, threatening to burst free. Plastic blossom hangs from its branches, filtering the light and casting shadows below.

Materials: Polypropylene pipe; nylon cable ties; stainless steel wire rope; LG HI-MACS; components from 39 decommissioned Bloomberg monitors; wood; foam; Fabric: Scuba by Maharam; LEDs and other miscellaneous materials. Lighting: FLOS Pure 1 Downlight

Flooring: Armstrong DLW Uni Walton 2.5 PUR