Building a baobab tree
Siemens commissioned renowned South African artist, Daniel Popper to design and build the massive sculpture that was inspired by the African Baobab tree as part of the COP 17 event in 2011 which took place in Durban.
The tree stood at almost 15 meters high and was made from reclaimed wood. OSRAM was proud to light up the tree with 3,000 high-efficiency Osram LED lights that were powered by solar panels. Some of the lights could even be powered by the bicycles positioned around the tree. By sitting on one of the 17 stationary bicycles, people could help provide the energy to power the tree and the faster one pedaled, the brighter the Siemens Baobab tree shone.
The Baobab tree is an appropriate part of the official logo of the COP17 United Nations Climate Change Conference, as over the centuries its age and majestic size has made it a traditional gathering place – a place where people come together to meet and solve problems.
The tree 'site' became the unofficial broadcast point for many local/international media and news outlets with reporters using it as a backdrop for their reports and a total of 30,170 people visited the tree.
