Night Garden at Flower Piano

San Francisco Botanical Gardens | San Francisco CA | 2018

What It Was

In summer of 2018, music, community, and nature joined forces once again in the heart of the city during the twelve-day, outdoor extravaganza known as Flower Piano, at the San Francisco Botanical Garden. Flower Piano once again transformed San Francisco Botanical Garden (SFBG) into the city's own alfresco concert hall, and everyone was invited to play and listen. In July, visitors found twelve pianos tucked among the many flower-filled gardens within SFBG's 55 acres and were encouraged to play what they like, from chopsticks to Tchaikovsky. SFBG enlisted Lightswitch to transform the space at night, for ‘Night Garden’.

What We Did

Working with the SFBG team, Lightswitch worked with a modest budget to transform the garden at night, into a magical place filled with music and light. Everything from simple festoons of gently glowing incandescent bulbs to sophisticated automated lighting fixtures were used to create a range of vistas and experiences as diverse as SFBG’s collection. Surprise and delight were around every corner!

Why It Worked

Already a popular and beloved event, our design brought the experience to life after dark, allowing an even greater number of people to enjoy the wonder of music in nature. Not every project needs a huge budget to achieve a memorable experience – but it does take a considered and careful design approach and focused story telling. Lightswitch brought that to this project, and the results speak to our success.