Few days ago, the results of one of the most important show of North America and of the World in general for what concerns landscape architecture came out: we are talking about The International Garden Festival, Métis, Canada.
Since its foundation in 2000, the festival has presented internationally renowned designers from 15 countries, with the creation of 220 thematic gardens. It has been a huge public success.
The Redford Gardens are the ideal place for the development of cutting-edge ideas in the field of landscape but also in the multidisciplinary concept of natural spaces, where the visual arts, architecture, design, landscape and the environment come together to design contemporary concepts and spaces.
Visitors got the chance to discover a new way of experiencing the garden, not only related to the scents and colors of the classic environmental elements.
It is a proper ephemeral but at the same time material itinerary, in which the visual and sensory experiences proposals always create new and fascinating spatial concepts of garden.
The 15th edition attracted 293 proposals for contemporary gardens submitted by over 700 architects, landscape architects, designers and artists from 35 countries.
The six new projects selected to be featured at the 2014 edition are by designers from Canada, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland and the United States.
Let’s take a look!
Afterburn
A post-apocalyptic experience that allows visitors to see how nature renews by itself after a fire and how she manages to heal damaged landscapes.
By CIVILIAN PROJECTS [Ksenia Kagner and Nicko Elliott], a Montréal-bred, Brooklyn-based art and architecture practice with an emphasis on the social potential of landscape and materiality. Through detail and construction, they seek to make legible the inter-dependency of anthropomorphic and environmental systems. By day, Ksenia Kagner is Project Architect at James Corner Field Operations. Nicko Elliott is Design Director for Macro Sea, a creative real-estate development agency.
Cone Garden
This garden is a pop-up garden made of orange construction cones – iconic symbols of job sites and the never-ending construction, de-construction and re-construction of our environment. They will become planters, seats and cones that transmit messages to passers-by and visitors.
By LIVESCAPE [architect and landscape architect Seungjong Yoo, landscape architect Byoungjoon Kim, botanist Hyeryoung Cho, landscape designers Yongchul Cho, Iltae Jeong, Jinhwan Kim and Soojung Yoon] and media artist Byoungjoon Kwon, from Seoul, South Korea. LIVESCAPE makes creative, sustainable and narrative spaces using living and natural materials. They have developed projects in varying scales and work to establish the confluence between their artistic approach and economic sustainability. www.livescape.co.kr
Line Garden
This contemporary labyrinth created from security tapes closely ordered in the natural environment provides new perspectives on the environment when visitors enter and inhabit the space.
By Canadian artist/designers Julia Jamrozik and Coryn Kempster, based in Basel, Switzerland. Through installations, drawings, video and architecture, they investigate everyday urban situations and re-present them to be experienced anew. They are interested in the public realm and in the way that individuals and groups use space, both inside and outside. They been collaborating together since 2003.
Méristème
A macroscopic structural representation of plant cell system reminds us of the significant role of plant biodiversity to ensure the future of human society.
By CHÂSSI [Caroline Magar, Marie-Josée Gagnon and François Leblanc, designers], Montréal (Québec, Canada). CHÂSSI is a variable geometry group in the field of architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning and design. Members collaborate in the creation of ephemeral installations that seek to highlight architecture, to promote ownership of the premises in a fun way and to the promote art, culture and design.
Orange Secret
Orange Secret plays with the perception and the way we respond around enclosed areas. It explores the orange dimension of the garden by isolating this visual characteristic from numerous stimuli that complete the perception through our senses.
By NOMAD STUDIO [landscape architect and urban designer William E. Roberts and agricultural engineer and landscape architect Laura Santin], New York, NY, United States. NOMAD STUDIO coordinates an international network working together in landscape architecture. They tailor each project with a team specifically designed for it. This allows them the ability to maintain the flexibility, motivation, and diversity to face each project. www.thenomadstudio.net
Rotunda
A basin-shaped rotunda accumulates daily pollen and leaves that serve as food for birds and insects, which leads to the development of a new life in the garden.
By CITYLABORATORY [architects Aurora Armental Ruiz and Stefano Ciurlo Walker], Santiago de Compostela, Spain. This a collaborative architecture platform concerned with the development of design projects for cities and territories of historic, cultural and natural value. It is an initiative that brings together professionals, academics and students from various backgrounds for the realization of projects, workshops, events and publications. www.citylaboratory.org
The 15th edition of the Festival is scheduled to open from June 28 to September 28, 2014.
DO NOT MISS IT.
Edited by: Riccardo Del Fabbro – Architecture Department – riccardo.delfabbro@positive-magazine.com
Proofreading: Bianca Baroni
Where: Métis, Canada
Artworks: “contemporary landscape spaces”
