Plant Takeover at Blue Fin: Case Study

Based in the Bankside area of London, the Blue Fin Building is a collection of office spaces that prides itself on its sleek interiors, a sense of community, and panoramic views of London. With its commitment to inspiring its occupiers to be happier, healthier and more productive, it has become renowned as a world-class workplace for businesses.

With the goal of improving the occupier experience, the Blue Fin Building commissions creative and unique displays for their lobby space throughout the year in order to engage attention and promote awareness for a diverse range of events.

The aim for the month-long display between July and August was to welcome back those returning to the office following over a year in which most occupiers had been working from home due to the pandemic. The client wished to install something entertaining and playful to make the occupiers smile and celebrate their return. With full confidence that Plant Designs would create a beautiful scheme that would stand out whilst also complementing the space, the client gave us a completely open and flexible design brief.

Our priorities when planning and designing were to create a display that was exciting and visually pleasing but also thought-provoking. Taking inspiration from the past year and a half of working from home, we put together a scheme based on the idea of office plants taking over the office and growing wild whilst everyone had been away.

The design was made up of plants trailing out of filing cabinets, breaking through a computer screen, and taking over the desk, creating an amusing scene that also highlights the power of nature when left to its own devices.

Achieving an effective balance between design and practicality was an important factor throughout this project. The priority with all event planting is to ensure the live plants look nourished and thriving for the whole duration of the display, for this reason we had to get creative with how we incorporated liners into the design (a vital part of live plant aftercare). Some of the ways we tackled this involved using pond liner within the filing cabinets and carefully cutting holes in the chair to hide small liners within, all of which enabled spillage free maintenance to be carried out on the display.

To create the overgrown and wild effect, we used a range of plant species from Calatheas and Aglaonemas to Lepismium and Scindapsus, just to name a few. By mixing a variety of shapes, sizes, and colours the display is not only humorous and entertaining, but beautiful too.

Sustainability is a key value at Plant Designs. Where possible we upcycled and used second-hand planting within this scheme to make it as sustainable as possible, something that we strive to do with all of our designs.

Ultimately, the scheme was a playful and striking way for the Blue Fin Building to celebrate its occupiers being back in the office and returning to some form of much needed normality. To learn more about how we can liven up your space whatever the occasion, please get in touch with us today.