Barnaby Steel of experiential art collective Marshmallow Laser Feast and concert pianist Sarah Nicolls will join engineer Neil Thomas of Atelier One at Tree Stories (and some grass), a Regenerative Design 2026 event on the evening of Wednesday October 21st.
Inventor and concert pianist Sarah Nicolls with the prototype for a carbon fibre 60 kilo vertical grand piano, which she hopes to start selling next year. Photograph by Adrian Sherratt for The Times.
Created in collaboration with scientists and researchers at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, “Of the Oak” by Marshmallow Laser Feast (MLF) visualises a ‘digital double’ of Kew’s historic, 18th century Lucomben oak, tracing the invisible flows within its natural system.
Neil Thomas, founder of Atelier One, known as one of the most innovative engineering practices in the world – and one of the first engineering practices to be part of the Regenerative Architecture Index – is the keynote speaker at an evening event dedicated to understanding what trees and grasses can teach us about structure and design. Part of Regenerative Design 2026, a four week programme of exhibitions and events, the event will take place from 6-30-8.15 pm on Wednesday 21st October at The Building Centre in central London.
Thomas, who will unveil an idea for an engineering approach inspired by tree modality, which could potentially be a major breakthrough in the way tall buildings are designed, will be joined by two special guests: inventor and concert pianist Sarah Nicolls, who has collaborated with Thomas to design an ‘inside-out’ lightweight, upright grand piano, recently featured in The Times, and artist Barnaby Steel, creative director of experiential art collective Marshmallow Laser Feast, whose work steps outside the human-centred worldview, exploring the threads that weave us into relationships with the more than human world.
Neil Thomas photographed at Bretforton Grange Estate near Evesham in Worcestershire as part of the Reinventing Practice series by Timothy Soar.
Launched by Architecture Today, Regenerative Design 2026 is a month-long programme of exhibitions and events that takes place at the Building Centre throughout October 2026.
