A Breath of Fresh Sculpture in the Sky Lounge
Airco Tree
Client
British Airways / Artwise Curators / Droog
Concept & Design
Tjep.
Location
Heathrow Airport
Design Team
Frank Tjepkema, Janneke Hooymans
Production
Bruns
Year
2004
Elevating Air Vents to Artistic Heights
Envision an air-conditioning duct reborn as a golden tree trunk, its abstract branches unfurling to breathe life into a luxury lounge—a seamless fusion of function and fantasy. Airco Tree, commissioned by British Airways in 2004 for the First Class Champagne Bar at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5, transforms a mundane vent into a 6-meter-tall sculptural centerpiece, evoking a sun-dappled piazza where travelers pause and ponder.
From Hidden Duct to Monumental Metaphor
Frank Tjepkema extended the original 2-meter tube into a towering fibreglass form, its graphic branches sweeping upward in a dynamic extrusion that mirrors a tree's oxygen-giving grace—just as the AC refreshes the air. "The airco provides fresh air to the space like trees provide us with oxygen," Tjepkema notes, turning infrastructure into invitation, where hidden mechanics become a gilded focal point edged in gold leaf.
A Droog Collaboration in Elite Skies
Part of Tjep.'s early Droog Design partnership, Airco Tree debuted amid the airline's executive lounge revamp, earning the Dutch Design Award for interior design in 2004. As Elle Deco raved, it conjures "a tree at the heart of an Italian-style piazza," blending whimsy with wellness for jet-set sojourns.
Tjep.'s Breath of Innovation in Travel
Echoing the layered motifs of Clockwork Love and the transformative forms of Chrysalide, Airco Tree embodies Tjep.'s ethos: everyday engineering as elegant escape, where ventilation meets vista in golden harmony.
Breathing Life, One Branch at a Time
Sculptural yet subtle, it proves vents can be verdant. Explore more of Tjep.'s airborne designs on Tjep.com, where air meets artistry.