by To celebrate the festive season, we’ve selected 10 creative Christmas tree designs from the Dezeen archive, including a tree trapped in a giant ice cube and an upside-down tree.
The roundup also includes a tree suspended from the ceiling and a country home display of unconventional Christmas tree designs.
Read on for imaginative and unusual interpretations of Christmas trees:
Upside Down Christmas Tree, UK, by Shirazeh Houshiary
Artist Shirazeh Houshiary designed this upside-down Christmas tree for London’s Tate Britain in 2016, which was suspended from the ceiling of the gallery’s Millbank building.
Houshiary covered the roots in gold leaf to highlight a part of the pine that is usually hidden while embracing the natural texture, color, shape and smell of the rest of the tree.
Find out more about the upside-down Christmas tree ›
Tokyo Midtown Christmas Tree, Japan, by Nendo
Installed this year in the Tokyo Midtown shopping mall, this Christmas tree designed by Japanese design studio Nendo features star-shaped cutouts that flutter in a rhythmic pattern.
The white tree is 7.5 meters high and has a polyhedral surface made up of flat metal panels. A total of 416 compact fans sit behind the panels, which are programmed to move the cutouts and down around the tree.
Find out more about the Tokyo Midtown Christmas Tree ›
Frozen Christmas Tree, UK, by Alex Chinneck
In 2016, British artist Alex Chinneck seemingly froze a Christmas tree in a giant block of ice for this installation at King’s Cross in London.
Chinneck used a two-ton block of resin to confine the five-foot-tall Christmas tree and added a surrounding pool of wax to give the appearance of melting ice.
Find out more about the frozen Christmas tree ›
Alternative Christmas tree sculpture, Denmark, by SOM
Instead of a traditional Christmas tree, the American architecture studio SOM designed a lattice pavilion in the courtyard of the Utzon Center in Denmark.
At the base of the structure, openings referencing the pyramidal shape of the trees led visitors into the center of the sculpture.
Find out more about alternative Christmas tree sculpture ›
Long Live the Christmas Tree, UK, by multiple designers
This Christmas season, an exhibition of unconventional Christmas trees entitled Long Live the Christmas Tree was presented at the historic Harewood House in West Yorkshire.
The country house showcased 11 designs created by artists, designers and artisans that referenced the farm, including this unfurling paper spiral tree by paper artist Andy Singleton.
Find out more about Long live the Christmas tree ›
Sanderson Hotel Christmas Tree, UK, by Yinka Ilori
British designer Yinka Ilori created this abstract Christmas tree for the lobby of the Sanderson hotel in London, which was illuminated from within the wood-splitting structure.
Its geometric shape was also designed to evoke a stack of presents, with five different colored shapes layered on top of each other.
Find out more about the Sanderson hotel Christmas tree ›
Upper House Hotel Christmas tree, Hong Kong, by Lasvit and Yabu Pushelberg
Hand-blown elongated glass candles and champagne-gold polished brass fittings make up this tree-shaped installation by Czech glass brand Lasvit and design firm Yabu Pushelberg.
Located in the lobby of Hong Kong’s Upper House Hotel, the glass elements were arranged in a diamond pattern and have delicate hand-etched grooves.
Find out more about the Upper House Hotel Christmas tree ›
Electric Nemeton, UK, by Sam Jacob Studio
Architecture practice Sam Jacob Studio aimed to create a futuristic interpretation of Christmas trees when designing Electric Nemeton, an exhibition in Granary Square in London’s King’s Cross consisting of elevated obelisks.
Raised four meters off the ground on steel “trunks”, the cluster of green pyramids was intended to mimic a forest of trees and was illuminated at night.
Find out more about Electric Nemeton ›
Tree of Glass, UK, by Lee Broom
British designer Lee Broom, who was shown inside The Shard in 2017, was informed by the skyscraper’s three-story atrium when designing the Tree of Glass installation.
Broom collaborated with glass brand Nude to create the tree, which consisted of 245 individual hand-blown glass pendant lights.
After the Christmas celebrations, the glass tree was taken apart and sold as individual lighting products, with the proceeds donated to the British Red Cross.
Find out more about Tree of Glass ›
Temenos, UK, by Liliane Lijn
Temenos, also on display in Granary Square in King’s Cross, was an 11.3 meter high abstract structure made up of multicolored glowing neon poles designed by American artist Liliane Lijn.
The 19 poles of different lengths were arranged in a conical shape with an opening that allowed visitors to walk inside Tenemos and surrounded by the neon lighting strips.
Find out more about Temenos ›
