Dezeen Magazine

Partners Hill hides Aesop pop-up among the undergrowth at Tasmanian music festival

Revellers at a Tasmanian music festival were invited to cool off inside this wooden pavilion filled with Aesop products, designed by architecture studio Partners Hill  (+ movie).

Aesop Tasmania by Partners Hill

Aesop was one of the sponsors of the MONA FOMA festival that took place earlier this year at Tasmania's MONA art gallery.

So the skincare brand commissioned local studio Partners Hill to create a pop-up space to showcase its products.

Aesop Tasmania by Partners Hill

The studio, led by Australian architect Timothy Hill, used locally sourced timber to create a boxy structure among shrubbery near the entrance to the Museum of Old and New Art.

Aesop Tasmania by Partners Hill

Called Chamber of Light and Shadow, the installation was designed to offer visitors a quiet spot to retreat from the main festival.

Pumps installed behind metal panels dispensed sunscreen and cooling aloe vera aftersun lotion to sun-kissed festival goers. They were also offered scent-infused bracelets.

Aesop Tasmania by Partners Hill

The product pumps were set in wooden boxes, which peeped through the foliage to frame views of the gallery's grounds and the dramatic coastal scenery.

Aesop Tasmania by Partners Hill

Large brown medicinal jars, like those used by the company as containers for its skincare products, were used to support shelves beside these openings.

Aesop Tasmania by Partners Hill

Aesop commissions a different designer for each of its stores, to ensure that no two are the same.

Dezeen spoke to Aesop founder Dennis Paphitis about how the brand uses design to prevent the store concept from becoming "soulless".

Movie and photography is by Alex Chomicz.