EXPERIENCE the results when Nature Takes Over at S’Mores Plaza Arkadia, Desa ParkCity, in Kuala Lumpur, from now till this Sunday.
This installation project is initiated by Strongbow Apple Ciders to bring nature into the city, and invite urbanites to refresh and reconnect in an interactive urban oasis, in line with the brand’s new tagline, Refreshing by Nature.
Heineken Malaysia marketing director Pablo Chabot says at the launch: “The role of nature in everyday life is often taken lightly although the importance of reconnecting with it is undeniable.
“Refreshing oneself through immersion with nature is not only a physically reenergising effort but also a mentally-rewarding exercise.
“As the world’s No.1 cider brand, Strongbow Apple Ciders is able to draw the best examples of how nature can interject with everyday surroundings and situations, and utilise those observations in bringing in fresh experiences to our consumers worldwide.”
To bring this project to fruition, Strongbow enlisted the expertise of three local collaborators – florist Eunice Teo, plantscaping studio Sputnik Forests Labs, and terrarium-landscape architects MossBoss – to give their interpretation of Refreshing by Nature in a space for city folk to reconnect with Mother Nature.
The results are three installations which also feature a nod to Strongbow Apple Ciders’ World No.1 position, now globally available in over 70 countries.
Sputnik Forests Labs, led by Wei Ming, used plants to turn the interior and exterior spaces into expressions of visual art, with its installation entitled The Space Between Us.
The Penang-based studio’s work was mostly inspired by renowned historian Yuval Noah Harari’s book Sapiens, which “aims to bring people closer to nature by taking down the imagined border between both states of mind”.
Stepping into The Green Dune by MossBoss is indeed like stepping into a terrarium. Inspired by global terrarium-landscape trends, the terrarium architects have given guests a space – akin to the insides of an imaginary tiny glass home surrounded by succulents, cacti, moss, and grass – for them to observe life while sipping on cold Strongbow Apple Cider.
On the other hand, Teo – who also did the flowers for box-office hit Crazy Rich Asians – used her expertise as the principal of Amtrol Flower Designing to create a garden of floral delight with her installation, The World’s Garden.
Teo drew inspiration from different climates around the world for her first installation with a brand like Strongbow.
The florist, who is a certified judge and evaluator from the American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD), took each contrasting element and shaped them to flow in a natural cycle that works with the space given.
“The pink flowers on top, those are bougainvillaeas,” said Teo about the flowers adorning the installation’s ceiling.
“You also have the olive plants over at the right-hand corner inside. That represents the change of the climates – [going] from desert to tropical to the Mediterranean, and then English.”
The lush setting, highlighted by cherry and light pink colours, plus a “tinge of white and a bit of yellow”, took Teo and her team (which also included her family members) three brainstorming sessions over meetings aided by “roti canai and teh tarik” to finalise.
On top of bougainvillaeas and hanging pendulas (Heliconia), The World’s Garden also features a gold ring, made with staghorn plants and real apples spray-painted with 24K gold, meant to represent Strongbow Apple Ciders.
The ring, she adds, actually represents the global nature of the brand.
“I want people to think differently when they look at flowers,” she says. “They are plants, but when you put them together in volume, they appear to be a different thing, [to have turned] into something else.”
Come experience Nature Takes Over at S’Mores Plaza Arkadia, and you can also enjoy a bottle of Strongbow (Gold Apple Variant), Strongbow British Dry on draught, and Strongbow Freeze – a refreshing alcoholic slushie – at only RM15.
For more, visit the Strongbow website or Facebook page.
