Most cool holidays installations of 2017

The designers also have a heart, and celebrate Christmas.

Of course, they do it in a personal, cool and sometimes even too conceptual way, but we forgive them all for the sake of art.

Upside down fir trees, decorations made with recycled office materials, fake suspended forests that recall a snowfall, bells-kaleidoscope, explosions there pop-colored food, ...

Here are the most interesting holiday creations made by designers this year.

Claridge’s Christmas tree by Karl Lagerfeld

London, UK

For Claridge, the hotel in Mayfair, which every year entrusts its party decorations to a prestigious designer, from Christopher Bailey to John Galliano, Karl Lagerfeld follows one of the latest trends and realizes a series of upside down spruces, in the center of the art deco hall a tree 2 meters high.

Li decorate with silver baubles, snowflakes, feathers, candles, all handmade by artisans in Germany, a small tribute to his childhood memories.

Above the white-painted roots hangs a large, faceted star that reflects the checkered floor. Under each tree, to recreate the effect of a fresh snowfall, place a large white Icelandic sheepskin rug.

“Bells” by Sergio Sebastián Franco

Barcelona, Spain

After a long collaboration with the city of Madrid, this year

Sergio Sebastián Franco chooses the Monastery of Sant Cugat in Barcelona for a special interactive installation dedicated to the holidays.

It’s called “Bells” and, as the name points out, consists of three super shiny bells positioned next to each other.

Each has a different feature: one is a kaleidoscope that reflects the surrounding environment, while the others are an interpretation of the rose window of the nearby monastery and a giant xylophone.

Haas for the Holidays by the Haas Brothers

New York, USA

The brothers Simon and Nikolai Haas give vent to their psychedelic universe by setting up the windows of Barneys for this festive season.

With their quirky style the duo of artists decided to celebrate the coexistence of species on Earth embodying the spirit of individuality and inclusiveness and to do that focuses on the theme “The future is your present”.

«We wanted to make a nondenominational holiday that focuses on gratitude and love for our planet and the life on it.» - explains Simon Haas - «The windows show a timeline from primordial past through a psychedelic rainbow future with a set of screens that are synced to show day and night passing. We wanted to show that all moments that have happened have happened under the same sky and with the same cycles. We made every plant and animal anthropomorphic so that the only denomination you might ascribe to our version of the holidays is animism.»

White Christmas by Snarkitecture

Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Brooklyn Snarkitecture studio is inspired by the snowfalls and whitewashed landscapes of the winter period to recreate a three-dimensional floating forest in the atrium of De Bijenkorf.

How? Creating a 12-meter high installation inside the Dutch store, a giant pine made up of 360 completely white artificial trees suspended in a voxel grid.

Definitely a white Christmas.

Luci D’Artista

Turin, Italy

Since 1997 Turin has replaced the traditional Christmas lights with lights tailored to the city by renowned contemporary artists.

This year, to celebrate twenty years of Luci d’Artista, from 27 October 2017 to 14 January 2018, 25 works will color streets and squares throughout the city.

Turin thus becomes a sort of open-air museum thanks to a mix of works created by local and international artists, including Rebecca Horn, Tobias Rehberger, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Valerio Berruti, Alfredo Jaar and Mario Merz. The most interesting? The Flying Carpet of Daniel Buren, that is a grid made up of suspended cubes in miniature with the colors of the French flag; the flock of flying pelicans by Piero Gilardi; the ancient astronomical atlas designed by Giulio Paolini.

Galeries Lafayette Haussmann

Paris, France

For Christmas 2017, the Galeries Lafayette Haussmann stage Spectacular Spectacular, a kind of luna-park, an exhibition of the early ‘900 with Ferris wheels and attractions of all kinds. The highlight? A giant and colorful tree decorated with balloons, donuts, maxi candies and many other delicacies.

Snøhetta Stories by Snøhetta

Lillehammer, Norway

Ever thought of using things found in offices to decorate your tree?

Well, the Norwegian group Snøhetta did it.

It hung crushed glass on the branches, staples, test-tubes, cables and everything that the designers think could evoke a Christmas atmosphere.

The Tree of Glass by Lee Broom and Nude

Londra, UK

The British designer Lee Broom has created a six meters high glass tree.

The work, made of 245 cone-shaped LED blown glass pendant lights illuminates the atrium of the Aqua Shard restaurant, on the 31st floor of the Renzo Piano skyscraper.

After the holidays, each of these lamps will be available for purchase from the Lee Broom website, and two thirds of the proceeds will go to charity.

Winter Wonderland by Tord Boontje

Innsbruck, Austria

In Austria, in Wattens, in the heart of Tyrol, the Dutch designer Tord Boontje and Swarovski explore the infinite possibilities and artistic skills of crystal. The result is a magical landscape inhabited by fairy-tale creatures scattered around a winter pavilion

of 8 meters by 8, composed of three cubes, an explosion of lights and lights awakens the Christmas atmosphere.

Recycled Tree by Ilaria Venturini Fendi

Naples Italy

Waste becomes art.

Ilaria Venturini Fendi transformed the scraps of Slamp lamps in “Recycled Tree”, a Christmas tree two meters high “that emerges from a bottom of mirrors and light reflections”.

A unique piece, handmade, with a dynamic design that will be sold by the Sergio Valente Association and the direct proceeds to the pediatric structure of Santobono.

The Upper House Christmas Tree by Yabu Pushelberg and Lasvit

Hong Kong, China

The Upper House Hotel in Hong Kong collaborates with the design company Yabu Pushelberg and the glass producer Lasvit to create a special Christmas tree inspired by the “Otto” glassware and the “Cipher” lights.

Tradition and contemporaneity thus merge into a unique and luminous creation.

Snowfall by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners

London, UK

The Berkeley hotel facades for these holidays is hit by a blizzard recreated from the study Rogers Stirk Harbor + Partners (RSHP) with 137,000 lights.

Stephen Spence, associate partner at RSHP explains the project with these words: «The installation evokes an intense snow storm as guests enter and leave the hotel, highlighting the sensation of warmth and coziness inside. The lights are placed as low as possible so that they can almost be touched, as if the snow was bearing down. This creates a magical and memorable experience, enhanced by the sparkle of the reflections above.»

Flatiron Reflection by Future Expansion

New York, USA

The Future Expansion architecture studio is inspired by the columnar organization of the nearby Flatiron Building, for its sculpture made of vertical sparkling pipes arranged in a horseshoe shape.

Reflective tubes capture the color and light changes of the day: the darkest become pink and gold at sunset.