Oct 16, 2016 | By Tess

While most places will decorate for the holidays with a Christmas tree, garlands, and lights, the Aqua Shard—the restaurant in one of London’s most iconic contemporary buildings, the Shard—is doing something a little bit different this year. That is, in lieu of a traditional Christmas tree, the restaurant will be unveiling a 3D printed nature inspired installation dedicated to Sir David Attenborough, who turned 90 earlier this year.

The installation, called Human Nature, was designed by Timothy Hatton and consists of thousands of 3D printed leaves, strung up in the high-end restaurant’s atrium. In fitting with Sir Attenborough’s passion for nature conservation, each of the leaves was 3D printed out of 100% recycled plastic material. To further honour the famous British conservationist, the installation features 90 specially designed leaves, one for each of Sir Attenborough’s years.

Sir David Attenborough

If Hatton’s 9 meter high installation looks impressive from afar, it will be even more striking from close-up, as the details of each of the 3D printed leaves will be seen. The 3D printed foliage, which was based on real species of trees, includes leaves from five different British woodland species, including English Oak, Silver Birch, Dogwood, Wych Elm, and Field Maple. As the installation’s website so eloquently explains, having the five species of leaf underlines “the beauty and variety found within our natural world and the importance of preserving this diversity.”

The stunning installation will officially be unveiled on November 17th and will remain in place throughout the winter holiday season. Once the season is over, the installation will be taken down and each of the individual leaves will be sold off. The proceeds made from the sale of the 3D printed leaves will go towards Fauna & Flora International, a wildlife conservation charity for which Attenborough has been vice-president for nearly 40 years.

In addition to the 3D printed Human Nature installation, the Aqua Shard will also be featuring a special Christmas dessert and cocktail on its menu. Not only do the two sound delicious, but half of their sale price will go towards the charity as well.

Sir David Attenborough, the English broadcaster famous for his documentary series Life, as well as for the nature documentary Planet Earth, said of the installation: “Timothy Hatton’s installation at the aqua shard captures wonderfully the fragility of nature, the beauty found in its diversity and the need to reflect upon the impacts of our own behaviour and of our ‘throwaway’ society – particularly at this time of year.”

 

 

Posted in 3D Printing Application

 

 

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