The Wishing Tree

Landscape architect Rosa Ceño was unanimously awarded the Best Proposal Iconic Center at Design Week Marbella in 2021. Her proposal for Stand IC06 was inspired by the promotion of urban greening benefits and the ecosystem services provided by green infrastructure, serving as a vegetal metaphor for sustainable gardens and incorporating an adaptation of the Japanese Tanabata festival to Mediterranean culture.

A 5-metre-high Wishing Tree, surrounded by straw alpacas, pine needles from Sierra Bermeja and Sierra Blanca, and paintings depicting countless stars across the Milky Way, invited visitors to engage with nature by contributing over 500 wishes written on recycled paper, hung among its branches. The wishes focused predominantly on love, followed by the environment, health, happiness, and peace. The tree, symbolising life, hope, and love, serves as Ceño’s inspiration. Through this installation, the landscape designer sought to foreground nature, transforming it into an ally: by creating sustainable gardens, we can actively enhance environmental quality.

Tanabata, the Festival of the Stars

We recreated the love story of Vega and Altair, with the Milky Way as its central motif, recalling the Japanese Tanabata legend, of Chinese origin. The beautiful princess Orihime (Vega, from the Lyra constellation) wove exquisite fabrics for her father, the king. So absorbed in her work, she remained alone until meeting Hikoboshi, a shepherd whom she married (Altair, from the Aquila constellation). The couple neglected their duties, angering the king, who transformed them into stars and separated them across the Milky Way (Amanogawa River).

The king allowed them to meet only once a year, provided that Orihime resumed weaving her fabrics. The distance between them was such that only the bridge formed by the star Deneb, on the seventh day of the seventh month, enabled the lovers to reunite annually. During summer nights, the Summer Triangle—comprising Vega, Altair, and Deneb—is visible in the sky, as the lovers cross the Milky Way to renew their ancient vows of love.