luminous globes extend from branched metal tree installation in pakistan

branching structure translates the tree into a light installation

Tree of Light by Raza Zahid Atelier is a lighting installation and gathering point at SOS Children’s Village in Lahore, Pakistan. Its branching structure raises luminous globes above a marble base that doubles as informal seating. Most evenings, the installation emits a warm glow, while programmed color sequences introduce a different atmosphere during celebrations, festivals, and moments of recognition.

The installation was conceived as both a source of illumination and a social object within the landscape. Located beside the library, it provides a place where children can gather, sit, read, talk, and play, while also creating a focal point for birthdays, religious and national celebrations, festivals, and individual achievements. Light therefore operates on both a functional and symbolic level, supporting everyday activities while giving shared occasions and personal milestones a visible presence.

The design translates the familiar form of a tree into a constructed and inhabitable object. A central trunk divides into a network of tapering metal branches that carry luminous globes. While the branching pattern has an organic appearance, its composition is based on precise pentagonal geometry. The resulting radial, non-orientable structure extends equally in every direction, giving the installation a consistent identity from multiple viewpoints.

all images ©Raza Zahid Atelier

Marble, metal and recycled polycarbonate shape the Tree of Light

At ground level, a pentagonal platform made from Ziarat white marble acts as both foundation and seating. Its position beside the library allows the installation to connect indoor learning with the surrounding landscape, creating a setting where reading and social activity can continue outdoors. The structure is fabricated from bent galvanised metal pipes that taper as they rise. These support thirty weather-resistant recycled opal polycarbonate globes in three sizes. RGB LED lighting inside the globes is controlled through a programmable DMX system, allowing the installation to move between a simple warm illumination and programmed sequences of color.

On ordinary evenings, the Tree of Light functions as a softly illuminated landmark. During occasions such as birthdays, Eid, Christmas, Independence Day, festivals, or personal achievements, color activates the canopy and changes the character of the installation. In these moments, light becomes a way of marking recognition, whether for a collective celebration or an individual moment shared with the surrounding community.

The color sequences can also operate as narrative, rhythm, and code, creating associations between light, landscape, pattern, and play. This adaptability extends to the physical system. Designed by Raza Zahid Atelier as a modular structure, Tree of Light can be adjusted in scale while retaining its pentagonal geometry and overall identity across different settings. The installation occupies a position between lighting object, landscape intervention, and gathering place. Its branches hold the light, while its marble base provides a place for people to gather beneath it.

the Tree of Light becomes an extension of the library, carrying learning and gathering into the landscape

a birthday beneath the Tree, where color turns light into a moment of personal celebration

storytelling beneath the Tree, as light shifts with the rhythm of the narrative

color adapts to its users, turning light into a gesture of recognition

color becomes a means of attention, drawing focus to the surrounding landscape

blue light extends the Tree into the sky, creating a quiet dialogue between object and landscape

seen from below, the luminous globes form a constellation of light suspended against the sky

viewed from below, the pentagonal geometry reveals the order beneath its seemingly organic form

at night, the illuminated globes appear to hover above the branching structure

project info:

name: Tree of Light

designer: Raza Zahid | @razazahid

location: SOS Children’s Village, Lahore, Pakistan

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. See more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: Christina Vergopoulou | designboom