Commissioned for the Unboxed Festival, PoliNations is a monumental civic intervention that explores the intersections of botanical and human migration. The concept translates the UK’s deep history of ecological and cultural cross-pollination into a vast public landscape, temporarily transforming the hard infrastructure of Birmingham’s Victoria Square into an immersive forest garden.

The spatial framework is anchored by five colossal, highly engineered ‘supertree’ structures. Functioning as both architectural canopy and civic focal point, these towering elements dictate the scale and atmosphere of the artwork. They shelter a vast, living understory of plants and flowers, establishing a distinct microclimate and a dynamic, open-air arena for public performance and collective gathering.

Operating as part of the core creative team alongside TRIGGER, THISS Studio led the physical realization of this concept from early-stage research and spatial development through to rigorous detailing and site execution. Engineered in close collaboration with Format, Carl Robertshaw, Bronia Housman, and specialized horticulturists, the project is an exercise in complex spatial storytelling: an environment where exact structural logic provides the framework for organic, evolving matter.

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS:
Giulia Spadafora
Jae W V Kim
Katja Ogrin
James Robertshaw
Adrian Newton