Stefano Boeri Interiors has installed a multi-sensory floating forest for Milano Design Week 2022 which was opened to the public on 7 June and will be on view until 12 June 2022 at the Fiera Milano fairground in Milan, Italy. 

Named Floating Forest, the installation was designed for manufacturer brand Timberland and conceived as an independent ecosystem on the waters of the Darsena to create a greener city.

The design of the installation meets the mission of the company "to inspire and equip a new generation to move the world forward." 

The floating forest plays a key role to address climate change and the important of nature, focusing on the brand’s vision for a greener and more equitable future. 

The design also explores the concept of circularity, where nothing goes to waste.

Highlighting the latest in eco-innovative products, the project, which is also part of Tortona Design Week, intends to put an emphasis the brand's commitment to being a force for social and environmental good not only by promoting the re-greening of urban areas.

The installation, conveying new forms of environmental responsibility and new ways of occupying and transforming urbanized spaces, offers a place of intersection and reconciliation between the natural sphere and human beings. 

The studio wants to make the forest as a social space "where the distance that the individual puts between himself and the natural world takes on new shapes and sizes."

To create the floating forest, the studio conceived the space as an independent ecosystem and installed 610 plants incorporating 30 species that multiply biodiversity and activate environmental benefits related to urban forestry, in connection with other green spaces in Milan.

"The forest offers not only an environment where you can rediscover the importance of biodiversity and the benefits of nature, but also a fully immersive experience, both physical and virtual, that through the scent of the flowers and the tactile qualities of the chosen species, involves all the senses," said Stefano Boeri Interiors. 

"A range of trees, such as Maple, Birch and Apple, will be present, as well as bushes such as the Aronia Berry, Hydrangea, Mahonia and Pittosporum, and perennial grasses such as Stipa, Eulalia, Anemone, Daylily, Purple Verbena and Pampas."

The installation features a two-channel path and accepts visitors via two entrance points. 

The installation has four fundamental points related to different senses and guide visitors to interact with the latest ecological product innovations and the brand values. 

The sensory elements are brought together through an on-site digital experience, and the experience will also be available online for those unable to attend the Fuorisalone event.

The first area of interest is associated to Timberloop Take Back Program, which encourages consumers to return their worn Timberland to a Timberland selected store or through a convenient pre-paid, ship-from-home option. 

Returned products are either repaired/refurbished for resale, or disassembled – with some parts being re-used and the rest being recycled.

The second area is dedicated to GreenStride, one of the latest technology Timberland has launched. GreenStride™ soles are made using a 75 per cent combination of renewable sugar cane and rubber from trees, making them naturally lightweight and comfortable, with rebound in every step.

The third room, called Hear & Breathe, presents further explanation of the positive impact that nature has on the city of Milan and on our lives, such as the concept of the forest as an independent ecosystem and its role in absorbing CO2.

Lastly, visitors can discover Timberland’s vision for a greener future – one where we may be able to have a net positive impact on Nature. Visitors can then engage by creating social media content and leave their positive mark.

They will be invited to pick up their gift - a customizable t-shirt - at the Timberland stores in Corso Buenos Aires, City Life and Portello, as well as at the VF flagship store Orefici11, where a dedicated installation will come to life with a reference to Floating Forest: through an AR visor they will be able to immerse themselves in the 3D forest. 

Two electric cars will be available from this store leading directly to the installation on Darsena and vice versa.

The studio emphasized that all the trees installed on the forest will later be donated to Soulfood Forestfarms Hub Italia, a nonprofit organization that facilitates the ecological transition of territories together with local communities̀, institutions and businesses. 

As the studio explained, the materials make up the installation are deliberately dry assembled. "This technique allows a great flexibility during the assembly and reassembly phases, as well as the reuse of individual elements once the installation will be dismissed," added Stefano Boeri Interiors. 

Open to the public from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. from June 7 to 12, the floating forest can be visited at Viale Gabriele D'Annunzio, 20 (Darsena).

All images © Daniela Di Corleto

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