Greenpeace Rave Tree

First built in 2017, the giant rave tree has been rebuilt at every successive Glastonbury since and become a landmark for the festival, putting the Greenpeace field on the map.

The DJ plays like an owl in a hole in the trunk to the surrounding crowd on dance podiums nestled around the roots. Mycelium networks connect bracket fungi that glow and pulse all the way up. And the fabulous lighting in the leaf canopy reacts and shimmers in time with the music.

The structure is like a giant meccano set, designed to be easily taken apart, stored and reused again. The foliage is made from the thin plastic packaging that comes around carpets, a waste product which Greenpeace art department stars collected and painstakingly threaded together to adorn the branches of the beast.

This is one of the most colossal and fun projects I have had the pleasure of being involved with.

Credits:

Architect: Tabitha Pope
Architectural Assistant: Alice Shephard
Art Directors: Liz Young and Nicola Wake
Lighting by: Bailes + Light
Construction: Factory Settings
Producer: Luke Cordingley
Commissioned by: Greenpeace UK