Hoegaarden Green House Provides Solace from Stress and Shanghai’s Sweltering Heat

Hoegaarden is well-known for the hint of orange peel and coriander, adding unique fruity flavor to the beer. The refreshing and crisp beer, therefore, is a great fit for Shanghai’s tortuously humid, sweltering summer. So Geometry Group in China decided to create a Hoegaarden Green House in the middle of summer, to provide much-needed relaxation as the key part of brand experience. The focus was to help busy and stressed consumers relax, as if they are sitting in the middle of nature.

 

A branded green house in a city centre is nothing new. It is a straightforward idea. However Geometry wanted to make a difference and the agency’s finding was that most commercial events focus on visual communications. People in this fast-paced information society are exposed to too many visual stimuli and it makes them even more tired. So they decided to create a unique sound that helps people feel relaxed and reduce stress. 

Geometry developed a cross-industry collaboration, working with independent musician Ma Haiping and sound artist Yi Yin. These two designed ‘nature sounds’ changed sequentially and naturally as people moved: insect sounds when they went near the grass, bird sounds when they went under the tree, and flowing water sounds when they sat down by the bar. In addition, three pieces of music were created to change with time - morning, afternoon and night - so the event site was always fresh and new. 

Also installed was an aerosol fragrance that filled the venue with the scent of orange peel and coriander. A famous local restaurant designed a special Hoegaarden Green House set menu, completing multi-sensory space, an “unnatural nature”. So the visitors could open up their senses before tasting a sip of Hoegaarden beer. In that way they could more focus on the true flavour of beer. 

After sunset, there were also live 3D mapping shows and periodical live music performances, making the site look like a mysterious glowing forest. The wonderful combination of cuisine, beer, music and summer breeze gave visitors a rare opportunity for relaxation in their busy urban lives, re-opening their senses and immersing them in the pure beauty of the moment.

The actual Greenhouse was on the sixth floor but in order to optimize the venue, Shanghai’s top-notch shopping mall K11, the team created extra installations on many other floors. This includes the entrance on the ground floor (which has the highest foot traffic), B1 of which the existing rest area was turned into a small forest and the fourth floor where they installed gaming elements to excite people and make them want to visit the Greenhouse.