the treetop walkway
royal botanic gardens, kew

The interpretation design for the Treetop Walkway presented a particularly difficult challenge, 18 metres high and exposed to the extremes of weather. We needed something that would age well, and withstand the environmental conditions, a design with a timeless quality and presence. Again bronze seemed the natural material to choose.

We created 20 bas-relief bronze plaques on a tree-centric theme.
Although the metal casting techniques employed are centuries old, the method for manipulating the imagery at the design stage was very novel.

Virtual three dimension models of each design were created from hand drawn sketches, these could be manipulated and worked with virtual sculpting tools, allowing for total freedom of creativity, and avoiding costly mistakes. The resulting virtual models were then cut from urethane blocks using Engineered Arts' especially adapted 3D router, the patterns for casting were then finished by skilled hands wielding chisels and knives.

On return from the foundry the bronze parts are refinished by hand and a patina is applied, this effectively accelerates the natural aging process of the metal, producing the characteristic green 'Verdigris' often found on ancient bronzes.

The bronzes are very tactile with contrasting textures and raised lettering, they are a joy to touch. Over one million people visit the gardens every year, we anticipate that the bronzes will become polished in places by the passing of many hands, this will only add to their beauty.