Rockwell Group LAB

Rockwell Group is a multidisciplinary architecture and design firm renowned for its ability to combine performance and architecture, creating exceptional experiences worldwide. Their team emphasises connection and community, weaving unique narratives into a variety of projects, including hospitality, museum exhibitions, products, education, transportation, and set design. Their latest accomplishment is the permanent installation 'Tree of Generations' at the Milken Centre for the Advancement of the American Dream (MCAAD) in Washington, DC. With a 29-foot-diameter canopy, a 26-foot-diameter base, a height of 24 feet, and a weight of 8107 pounds, this impressive structure serves as a focal point for passersby. This innovative artwork stands as a symbol of the diverse experiences that define the American Dream, featuring over 1,000 glowing OLED images that capture the faces and stories of visitors, integrating them into a larger narrative.

'Tree of Generations' features an internal steel frame that supports a cast aluminium trunk and branches. The trunk is divided into four quadrants, each containing one primary branch, nine secondary branches, 63 tertiary branches, and 504 quaternary branches. The primary and secondary branches are made of cast aluminium, while the tertiary and quaternary branches are constructed from laser-cut aluminium tubes, which are welded into assemblies and bolted to the cast branches.

Each quaternary branch is adorned with a combination of dichroic film leaves and OLED screens. The screens utilise Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology and are wired through the branches and down the trunk, culminating in the brain of the tree, which is concealed beneath 20 cast aluminium base panels. The OLED screens are programmed to display images individually or to work together to present a single image, functioning as individual pixels in a "takeover" mode.

We worked closely with the installer Bison Fine Art Services, Design & Production (responsible for AV/OLED integration and exhibition production), Rockwell Group LAB (the designer), and MCAAD (the end user/client).