Stefano Boeri Interiors has revealed design for a multi-sensory floating forest for Milano Design Week 2022 which will open to the public tomorrow and will be held until 12 June 2022 at the Fiera Milano fairground in Milan, Italy. 

Called Floating Forest, the installation is designed for manufacturer brand Timberland, whose mission is to inspire and equip a new generation to move the world forward.

The design of the installation converges the role of brand and the role of nature, to create a greener and more equitable future, along with the concept of circularity, where nothing goes to waste.

The project, part of Tortona Design Week, aims to emphasize the brand's commitment to being a force for social and environmental good not only by promoting the re-greening of urban areas, but also by highlighting the latest in eco-innovative products.

"Urban greening is a fundamental step in combatting the effects of climate change and improving citizens’ quality of life," said Stefano Boeri Interiors.

"To this end, cities need to be greener: an urban forest can serve as an opportunity to improve the healths of the environment and restore biodiversity to leave a legacy for future generations."

The floating installation, created as an independent ecosystem on the waters of the Darsena in Milan, emerges as a striking element on the urban landscape that attract visitos' attention in the city.

The goal of the installation "is not only to convey new forms of environmental responsibility and new ways of occupying and transforming urbanized spaces, but to offer a place of intersection and reconciliation between the natural sphere and human beings," said the studio. 

It will also serve as a space for sociality where the distance that the individual puts between himself and the natural world takes on new shapes and sizes.

Conceived as an independent ecosystem, the installation consists of 610 plants and 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," added the studio.

Floating Forest includes 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 path through the installation will have four fundamental points related to different senses and will lead visitors to interact with the latest ecological product innovations and the brand values. 

The installation incorporates sensory elements both through an on-site digital experience, and online for those unable to attend the Fuorisalone event.

The office stated that "the project also aims to leave a legacy for the city, in support of the local community: all the trees that make up 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."  

Together with CasciNet Agrohub and the University of Milan, it is implementing a regeneration project at Vettabbia Park to transform disused land into a productive, complex and layered agroforestry system managed according to agroecological principles.

In addition, the materials that compose 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.

The installation will be open from 10 am to 10 pm from June 7 to 12 at Viale Gabriele D'Annunzio, 20, Darsena.

All images courtesy of Stefano Boeri Interiors and Timberland*. 

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