![Yinka Ilori Christmas tree installation at Sanderson London hotel](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/12/yinka-ilori-christmas-tree-sculpture-sanderson-hotel-london-england-uk_hero-a-852x479.jpg)
Yinka Ilori creates brightly coloured Christmas tree for London hotel
Yinka Ilori has rounded off a busy year by designing a stylised Christmas tree for London's Sanderson hotel, featuring his signature colourful and graphic aesthetic.
Ilori designed the 2.5-metre-tall Christmas tree to greet guests as they enter the lobby of the Philippe Starck-designed hotel on Berners Street.
The sculptural installation comprises five geometric forms that are layered to create a simplified representation of a Christmas tree. The design of the tree is also intended to evoke a stack of colourfully wrapped presents.
![Yinka Ilori Christmas tree installation at Sanderson London hotel](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/12/yinka-ilori-christmas-tree-sculpture-sanderson-hotel-london-england-uk_dezeen_col-4-852x568.jpg)
Each element is rendered in a different colour, with adjacent surfaces on some of the components also contrasting to enhance the three-dimensionality of the construction.
Ilori designed the installation to be made using standard industrial materials including pieces of sawn timber and plywood sheets.
The solid base contains a light source that illuminates the centre of the open structure. Light passing through gaps in the structure casts shadows on the surrounding surfaces.
The tree occupies a prominent spot in the lobby of the West End hotel, which was completely refurbished by Starck in 2000. The heritage-listed 1950s building was originally a company headquarters and retains many of its original features.
The Christmas tree is the latest in a long list of commissioned projects in the capital that has seen the designer revitalise an unloved railway bridge, co-create a multicoloured pavilion at Dulwich Picture Gallery, and handle the design of an exhibition celebrating black creativity at Somerset House.
![Yinka Ilori Christmas tree installation at Sanderson London hotel](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/12/yinka-ilori-christmas-tree-sculpture-sanderson-hotel-london-england-uk_dezeen_col-3-852x1278.jpg)
Ilori also participated in the judging panel for the 2019 Dezeen Awards and gave an interview in which he expressed concern about being merely as a colourist rather than a multidisciplinary designer.
His other projects have included a geometric-patterned playground installation for Pinterest and a collection of brightly coloured chairs created together with volunteers from a social enterprise.
![Yinka Ilori Christmas tree installation at Sanderson London hotel](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/12/yinka-ilori-christmas-tree-sculpture-sanderson-hotel-london-england-uk_dezeen_col-2-1-852x1278.jpg)
Designers are often asked to create imaginative Christmas tree designs in public places.
Previous examples include a latticed pavilion with a stepped internal form evoking a typical tree's silhouette, an installation made from illuminated light fixtures, and a full-sized Christmas tree that appeared to be encased in ice.