Seething Yatai

Collaborating again with the Community Brain, Unit 5 designed and built the Seething Yatai, a festival float which signals the start and finish of the Seething Festival parade: an annual event which honours the tale of Lefi Ganderson, the mythical Goatboy of Mount Seething who drove away a giant and united the community behind him.

Inspired by Japanese festival architecture, the Seething Yatai is 5 metre tall mobile structure weighing nearly two tonnes and featuring a base constructed from oak sleepers and solid timber wheels. The upper level is lighter, formed from timber studwork and polycarbonate. The structure is clad with a lattice timber frame, which supports over 400 recycled milk bottles, potted with small flowers & seeds, which are distributed to the public from the central platform. This simple act of sharing encourages people of all ages to start cultivating their own plants, flowers and produce.

Thus, the Yatai has become an identifiable local landmark, a mobile seed bank promoting sustainability, growth and up-cycling, consolidating Unit 5’s relationship with the community and with the allotment culture within the borough.