Created by Budapest design studio, Hello Wood, The Garden of Communities is a public installation of staked wooden planter boxes in a spiral form. The unique form allows visitors to freely explore the structure both inside and out through its multiple passageways. From inside the structure, visitors can gaze upwards to the sky and see a kaleidoscope-like view of wood and plant life.

Crafted from reclaimed timber sourced from Budapest, the installation contains 116 named planter boxes that symbolise the 116 municipalities in the Veszprém-Balaton 2023 European Capital of Culture programme. Each planter box contains a native tree sapling that will grow and mature within the structure. In four years, each planter box will be returned to its named municipality where it can be planted and grow on for many years.

Images György Palkó via designboom

The biodiverse vertical garden includes an automated irrigation system and offers varied sun exposure, wind patterns and rainfall conditions depending on the planter boxes placement within the structure. Each planter box with tree species included was carefully positioned based on its needs for water and sunlight.