The Christmas season has begun; the season of carols, mince pies, mulled wine and of course the season of Christmas trees. Every house we visit, every window shop we walk by and every restaurant we go to will have a Christmas tree, some will be bigger, some smaller and some more unique.

Such is the case of the Aqua Shard where the Christmas tree this year is anything but traditional. The artistic installation named “Human Nature” was designed by Timothy Hatton Architects and consists of thousands of 3D printed leaves made from recycled plastic. The leaves which represent five different British woodland species hang from the Aqua Shard’s three-storey atrium reminding us of the beauty and the importance of preserving our natural world. The leaves that create Human Nature will be for sale as individual art pieces and the money raised will be given to Flora & Fauna International, an organisation of  which Sir David Attenborough has been a Vice-president for the past 37 years.

During the daytime, Human Nature can be appreciated with amazing scenic views across London as a background. The white leaves are often seen in silhouette against the bright sky and at other times when the natural light is more subdued, a number of narrow beam uplights softly graze through the leaves adding warmth to make them pop out. As the sun goes down, the uplights dim down too to reveal shadows and contrast and creating a beautiful, at times emotive, installation.

Human Nature will be there until 5^th January 2017, go have a look and maybe have a festive cocktail too (50% of the proceeds go to the charity)!