Everyone loves the Brindleyplace cherry blossoms. The ’Pink Perfection’ trees in Oozells Square are a huge draw to the estate every spring for visitors of all ages and nationalities. These include school children, the media, bloggers, influencers, local families and office tenants both from Brindley and further afield. Tenant engagement and footfall to the estate increase during blossom season by at least 25% so we want to build upon this…
Our ‘Bring Back the Blossom’ campaign was launched to encourage recycling across the estate and to make the interest in cherry blossoms last beyond just the blooming season. A giant pink can bank was placed in Oozells Street earlier this summer and we’ve since been encouraging people to drop their empty aluminium cans in it.
Last week the bank was emptied for a final time, and we now have 4 x 1 tonne bags of empty cans that we are going to recycle into… BLOSSOMS! These cans (and our blossom) will bloom once more!
Students from the School of Art at Birmingham City University, a recognised partner of Brindleyplace, have been challenged with bringing the ‘Bring Back the Blossom’ project to life. Today, 25th September, during Recycling Week, we’re launching a search for three designs which can be made using the aluminium cans. A call-out has gone to students tasking them with designing blossoms to decorate the planters and benches around Brindleyplace. They may also choose to design free-standing sculptures or flowers to place in the ground around trees and they are able to work alone or in groups to submit their plans.
Matt Long, Senior Asset Manager for Praxis at Brindleyplace said:
“The cherry blossoms blooming in Spring each year is one of the highlights on the Brindleyplace calendar so to see this recycling initiative taking place which will engage with students from BCU, enhance our public realm and make the blossoms in Oozells Square last year-round is great.
“We’re looking forward to seeing the designs the art students come up with and eagerly await their installation.”
Speaking of the project, Brian Bishop, Senior Lecturer and Course Director at BCU said:
“This is an exciting, real-world project and we welcome the opportunity for our talented students to create a buzz in the city and showcase their work with major city businesses, visitors and the local community throughout the cherry blossom period and beyond.”
The students have until 5:00 pm on 3rd November to submit the designs and a shortlist will be decided on 24th November when the designs will be on display for a week. The chosen submittals will then be produced between 1st December and the end of January before being installed in Oozells Square in mid-February – ahead of the 2026 cherry blossoming.
