old magazine christmas tree by tai ran tseng

‘old magazine christmas tree’ by tai-ran tseng 

berkeley architect tai-ran tseng started making his own christmas tree using recycled, repurposed materials in 2005 when his then 3-year-old son became interested in santa. he decided to build a ‘green’ version, as he felt funny about the scene of dead pine’s lying around on the sidewalk at the end of the holiday seasons, and did not feel like getting a PVC tree made in a developing country. it has since become his family tradition to design and build a christmas tree each year. this seven foot tall concept was built out of 33 old magazines and recycled cardboard. it opens and collapses like a series of umbrellas.

soaring 7-ft tall tree made out of 33 magazines

magazine pages rolled into cones of foliage

connect with folded cardboard branches in a circular array

small tree of stacked cones

the grown tree opens and collapses like a series of umbrellas

awaiting packages from santa

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.