hello wood crafts timber christmas trees in london, manchester and budapest

hello wood crafts timber christmas trees in london, manchester and budapest
image © creatmosphere

for the run up to the festive season, design studio hello wood have redefined and crafted their version of the christmas tree in three locations:  budapest, london and manchester. the project – in its third consecutive year – continues to follow a sincere concept, with the building materials used towards the construction of the installation to be meaning reused and donated to various causes.

the artists created the unique mixture of light and architecture to mark the lumiere london festival
image © creatmosphere

situated in london’s granary square at king’s cross station, the form of this tree has been made up of carefully stacked sledges. called ‘let it snow’, the structure shines a light on the impact of climate change that has prevented sledging on london hills during this festive time for many years. furthermore, hello wood collaborated with light designers creatmosphere to install and animate the tree with light and sound; a cycle of color-changing motion and music which represents the four seasons. when the tree gets taken down, the 100 sledges used to build the installation will be given away to local schools in the area.

the 100 sledges used to build the installation will be given away to local schools in the area
image © creatmosphere

‘we wanted to create a temporary installation, which is not only spectacular, but with primary elements that remain usable so they can be distributed among kids. for us, this is the point of social awareness: you don’t only show something, but at the same time you give something unique,’ comments andrás huszár, co-founding architect of hello wood.

100% of the building material will be recycled to build the pilcrow pub’s workshop space
image © rob evens

created to embody the power of community building during the christmas holidays. the 11 meter tree has been designed for the pilcrow project in manchester. afterwards, 100% of the building material will be recycled to building benches, furniture and flooring for the pilcrow pub’s workshop space. for this specific installation, the branches take on a spiral-like form, built on a basic structure, using pine and oak, in a variety of sizes and cross sections in order to provide the maximum number of possibilities for future use.

the installation took three weeks to prepare in hungary
image © rob evens

‘it was an inspiring challenge to design and build a christmas installation that is not only visually attractive and comprehensible for the wider public,’ explains david raday, co-founder of hello wood.. ‘we hope that this tree will become a symbol for the power of community-building during the christmas holidays, and later on in its new form when used in the pub.’

made up of log wood, the ‘charity tree’ is based in hello wood’s home city budapest
image © miklós vargha / zsolt szigetváry

in hello wood’s home city of budapest, the installation is erected in support of the hungarian interchurch aid. with help from others, the ‘charity tree’ stands at a height of 16 meters, and is made from 10,000 pieces of firewood to represent the importance of community spirit. the temporary installation is accessible through an entrance and with the use of light effects, the round-shaped windows on the structure look like classic christmas-tree decorations from the outside. as the project raises awareness of the families in hungary who go through winter with no heating, the firewood will be donated for homes afterwards.

the goal was to create a tree for the budapest community, symbolizing the importance of caring about each other
image © miklós vargha / zsolt szigetváry

‘the role of architecture changed a lot in the last few years. it has become more important to create works that are for everybody, not only the exclusive 1% of the population. hello wood represents this socially responsive architecture’ comments peter pozsar, co-founder of hello wood.

visitors can go and climb the inside of the installation
image © miklós vargha / zsolt szigetváry

the installation of 10,000 pieces of firewood that weigh a total of 40 tonnes
image © miklós vargha / zsolt szigetváry