Client: Swire Properties

Overview

Public Art Installation “Please Be Seated” presents Paul Cocksedge Studio’s first-ever touring public art installation across the Chinese Mainland.

Commissioned by Swire Properties, the highly anticipated tour of “Please Be Seated” in China in collaboration with British design firm Paul Cocksedge Studio will be open to the public at the Temple Plaza of Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li Chengdu, engaging the community through an interactive art experience.

The debut of this significant art piece across its retail projects in the Chinese mainland resonates with Swire Properties’ commitment to offering world-class art and cultural experiences for local communities to enjoy. This is the first international showcase of the giant public art piece since its critically acclaimed debut at the London Design Festival in 2019. Following the Chengdu stop, “Please Be Seated” will travel across the country to Taikoo Hui in Guangzhou, Taikoo Li Qiantan in Shanghai, and Taikoo Li Sanlitun in Beijing, where it will become a permanent installation in the capital city.

Goals

This installation, which merges innovation, sustainability, and art, is a wonderful showcase of Swire Properties' commitment to creative placemaking in its communities. This functional piece invites the public to explore and engage with the artwork on their own terms, interacting with it so that they become an integral part of the piece themselves. These words send a powerful message of the personal relationships people form with art and speak to our vision of curating exceptional art and cultural experiences within commercial and retail developments.

Process

"Please Be Seated" was designed to respond to urban life's dynamic nature, reinvigorating how local audiences interact with space and the community. The 15.2 meter-long installation features' waves' of wood rising to form arches for people to walk through and curves under to create space for people to sit, lie and relax. Echoing Swire Properties' intense focus on sustainable development, the piece is fabricated from 1,440 planks of sustainably sourced timber.

Paul Cocksedge Studio and Swire Properties engaged the services of UAP to fabricate and install this highly anticipated tour of Please Be Seated in China. The large-scale installation was designed for the busy nature of urban life, reinvigorating how local audiences interact with space and the community. This major art installation also reflects Swire Properties’ commitment to offering world-class art and cultural experiences for local communities to enjoy.

This is the first international showcase of the giant public art piece, which Paul Cocksedge Studio originally designed for the 2019 London Design Festival. Following the Chengdu stop, Please Be Seated will travel across the country to Taikoo Hui in Guangzhou, Taikoo Li Qiantan in Shanghai, and finally Taikoo Li Sanlitun in Beijing.