Magica Botanica - a 25,000 sqft immersive installation for Swire for Pacific Place.

Close-up of an illuminated glass orb containing a green plant species, part of the Magica Botanica installation.

Studio X was appointed by Swire to create an immersive installation spanning the arcade at Pacific Place, designed to slow traffic through the mall and strengthen its standing as a destination.

Process

Concept Design

Schematic Design

Detail Design

Tender Documentation

Tender Management

Construction Support

Post-Completion Review

Our concept took plant species from Hong Kong's own jungle and showed them where nobody expects to find them: Real leaves, cast in polyester resin to seal them from the air and hold their colour, suspended in illuminated orbs down the length of the arcade.

The point was not decoration. A mall arcade is a place people move through quickly, and every second of dwell time has commercial value. Making people stop and look was the brief.

The app turned the arcade into a treasure hunt across three zones: trees, flowers and herbs. Quizzes, leaderboards and return prompts kept people moving through it, and redemptions tied to Pacific Place retailers turned attention into footfall the tenants could see. The installation stopped being something you walk past and became a reason to come back.

White 3D concept render of an atrium interior with suspended spherical light fixtures and illustrated botanical leaf motifs above a reflective floor

A view across the mall void at a large cluster of orbs, visible at all levels of the mall.

Overhead view of illuminated glass orbs containing plant species, suspended above the Pacific Place atrium as part of the Magica Botanica installation.

A view looking up at one one the orbs, each one receiving solar energy from above.

Hand holding a smartphone displaying the Magica Botanica treasure-hunt app with a leaf icon.

The prototype app that we designed to encourage people to journey through the experience and learn.

An arcade that people hurry through earns less than one they stop in. So we made twenty-five thousand square feet of it notice them.

Magica Botanica branded tote bag featuring a colourful illustrated jungle-species design.

Magica Botanica illustrated collateral featuring colourful jungle plant and animal artwork.

Selected views

Views of the installation along the arcade, showing the illuminated orbs and the scale of the intervention.

Magica Botanica branded t-shirts featuring a colourful floral jungle print.

3D render of suspended botanical orbs containing red flowers and green leaves hanging from an atrium ceiling

Botanical illustration of a potted vine plant shown with its full root system against a white background

3D render of a mini in-mall botanical installation with illuminated flower and leaf sculptures on tall stems beside a retail counter

Product elevation illustration of a hanging glass orb ornament containing a pressed green leaf

3D render of an atrium ceiling installation with suspended illustrated botanical orbs above a mall interior

Overhead view of a circular floor seating feature with an embedded plant graphic and RFID tag signage for an interactive discovery zone

(Approach)We proposed scholarships for underprivileged Hong Kong school children, to do the foraging - so the scheme's material came from the city it was about.

Drawings & details

This section presents selected drawings and technical studies developed to test layout, circulation, and spatial logic prior to detailed documentation.

Pitch presentation slide mapping possible installation locations for the orb displays across the L1 mall plan.

An overall plan of the mall showing potential locations of compact versions of the floor standing variant.

Pitch presentation slide showing a technical component overview and floor plan for the Design Option A orb installation.

Detailed design drawing of a compact version of the scheme, designed to be deployed in specific areas.

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Pitch presentation slide 'Design Option A' showing a render of illuminated orb installations hanging in the Pacific Place atrium.

The compact floor standing option, shown here. Each mono-pod connected together with a brass strap with engraved messaging and illustrations.

A landlord commission, judged on whether it changed how people moved through the space.

Magica Botanica was commissioned by Swire Properties, one of the most demanding landlords in Hong Kong, for Pacific Place - a mall whose position depends on being a destination rather than a thoroughfare. Working across a full arcade length rather than a single unit meant designing something that could be read at a distance and held attention up close. Studio X took the scheme from concept through detailed design to tender, alongside the digital and printed collateral, developing a more compact floor-standing version in response to Swire's budget considerations. The scheme stands as a fully worked exploration of what Pacific Place could become - a complete concept, developed through to tender.