HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY / SHISEIDO CANADA
#THE7TO
Project Overview
Shiseido Share Beauty was a secretive pop-up exhibit on the seventh floor of Toronto's Queen Street Hudson's Bay, which ran from late Dec '19 thru Feb '20. The exhibit was filled with a lot of Instagram-ready iridescence, a natural aesthetic created by dichroic and mirrored panels.
Visitors step out of the elevator straight into the Mirrored Forest, which surrounds the walkway with triangular towers made of mirrored acrylic. The path leads into a second room with a ball pit filled with 'pearls.' A polygonal dichroic tree sprawls across this room, partially hovering overhead, casting color in all directions through its iridescent canopy. And in the corner opposite the ball pit is a wall of messages, where strangers can take an inspirational note and write one for the next visitor. The last room is a corridor leading out of the ball pit room, covered with sequin panels on one side and photo ops on the other.
PROGRAMS USED /
Solidworks 3D
Keyshot Pro
ROLE /
Industrial Designer
Engineer
TEAM /
Jerry Q, Sahed A, Peter K
DATE /
2019
Mirrored Forest
The design of the mirrored forest started as experimentation with different shapes of columns; triangular, octagonal, hexagonal, and flat rectangular. Triangular columns were agreed upon due to costs of manufacturing and timeline requirements.
Next was experimentation regarding the number of columns and the variation of their sizes. The total amount began as a dense forest of 80 6-inch columns, then it had condensed to 60 6-inch and 8-inch columns, and after that 40 6-inch and 8-inch columns. Factors to consider were that gaps in between columns had to be ADA-approved; columns cannot be blocking elevators and the stairwell; columns had to be far apart enough so that visitors had enough distance to take photos. Designers played with the 'forest' path, some winding like a real forest. In the end, less than 20 columns were placed, with a path down the middle of the corridor.
Ball Pit
The initial idea for the ball pit was to have dichroic elements hanging from the ceiling (see photos below). The concept was replaced by glittered printed graphics that cover both cornering walls.
Dichroic Tree
Initial concepts for the second room were a wireframe with dichroic panels hung from the ceiling; it then transformed into a tree-like canopy structure anchored to poles. The lead industrial designer Peter Kantor (Pratt '83) engineered a system that used 5-way joints, which linked together PVC piping of different lengths. The varying sizes of PVC piping created varying sizes of triangles, which was essential for optimal structural balance, thus safely permitting a canopy.
Give / Take Wall
The Give/Take wall idea is to provide an inspirational space where strangers can leave meaningful messages for each other. The cherry blossoms are made from thin PETG plastic layered with a dichroic film. Each blossom is cut to shape in two sizes on a large-format plotter and delivered with a piece of double-sided tape on the backside. Visitors were encouraged to leave a positive message and pluck one off the wall to bring home.
Additional Photo Ops
After the ball pit room, there is a corridor filled with photo ops along with an interactive wall of sequins.
