Can design inspire romance? Bompas & Parr aim to find out with winter pop-up at The Shard
by Kim Megson | 10 Nov 2015
Experience designers Bompas & Parr have partnered with composers, perfumers and academics to transform the top of The Shard in London into “the most romantic place in the world.”
The studio – best-known for its contemporary food design, culinary research and creation of flavour-based experiences – will operate the ‘Height of Winter’ experience from 23 November until the end of January 2016.
According to the company, “super-scaled crystals, gem-studded snow dunes, an iridescent grotto and carolling plants” will be installed at the top of the Renzo Piano-designed tower; western Europe’s tallest building.
The installation is based on the theory that setting, architecture and design can be used to provoke a romantic response. Bompas & Parr say their combination of innovative interior design, specially-created food and drink, use of scents and sound and the sensation of being stood at an altitude of 244m (800ft) will get visitors’ hearts racing.
The installation has been created with the help of academics, including Richard J Williams, a professor of contemporary visual culture at the University of Edinburgh. He said: “There are few things so reliable at producing the frisson essential to romance as the view from a tall building.
“There has to be a sensuousness about the place, activating touch, or taste, or smell as well as sight and hearing. And there has to be – somewhere, however slight – a sense of danger that throws two people upon each other for safety.”
A separate Bompas & Parr project, called Alcoholic Architecture, is currently making waves in the basement of a Victorian building in London’s Borough Market.
Designed as an “alcoholic weather system for your tongue”, the visitors can stroll through a walk-in cloud of breathable cocktail. According to the studio, “meteorology and mixology collide against a canvas of monastic mayhem, referencing the gothic splendour of neighbouring Southwark Cathedral.”
The installation is taking over The View from The Shard until the end of January 2016 Credit: The View from The Shard
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Experience designers Bompas & Parr have partnered with composers, perfumers and academics to transform the top of The Shard in London into “the most romantic place in the world.” The studio – best-known for its contemporary food design, culinary research and creation of flavour-based experiences – will operate the ‘Height of Winter’ experience from 23 November until the end of January 2016. According to the company, “super-scaled crystals, gem-studded snow
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