plants and architecture
In 2011 Peter Zumthor created a Pavilion for the Serpentine Gallery. It included a specially created garden, designed by Piet Oudolf, a world-renown Dutch planting designer.
When creating the Pavilion, Zumthor was inspired by the idea of hortus conclusus, a monastery garden.
A contemporary building and a garden, architecture by Promontorio
Historically the enclosed garden was created to cultivate plants for their medicinal, food or flavouring purposes.
The hortus conclusus was a garden that was separated from the wild. It was an organised sanctuary, a refuge, controlled by the monks, i.e. humans. This type of garden contrasted sharply with the outer world, controlled by nature.
The architecture of the Pavilion guided the visitors towards the main enclosed garden. It was a wild looking planting design with a rectangular shape, surrounded by the walls of the Pavilion from all sides, with one big opening towards the sky.
This contemporary hortus conclusus allowed the visitors to escape the hustle and bustle of London, its noise, its smells. The architecture and the shape of the Pavilion encouraged visitors to contemplate the planting design, its changing colours, textures, smells and light.
This planting design could be viewed from all sides, experienced, touched, and approached easily – like an art installation in a gallery setting.
In Zumthor’s Pavilion the relationship between plants, planting design and architecture created a memorable experience. The architecture of the building was very simple, the materials humble and honest.
Here the garden itself, with its beautifully designed planting, was the most prominent feature. The simple and dark architecture of the Pavilion framed the garden and made it stand out.
The close link between plants and architecture is visible in the creation of many contemporary houses. Plants and planting design are bringing the sense of nature, and the wilder landscape closer and into the intimate dwelling of a contemporary house.
A contemporary courtyard garden
Taking as an example, many Japanese architects are able to incorporate plants and planting areas within the often limited spaces of a Japanese house, even in very dense urban settings.
This is important, as nature is strictly limited to existing parks and small green areas in many Japanese urban areas, and the density of construction doesn’t allow for an elaborate garden design.
Here the interior courtyards, often with a single tree in a distinctive shape, or planted passageways, are bringing nature inside the house.
Even the views of the sky, the sunlight or the hints of breeze, are regarded as manifestations of nature and are very important elements in the day-to-day existence.
It is clearly a nod to the history of Japanese garden design, where courtyards, often with a single tree or a shrub, were acting as little expressions of nature, binding the architecture, its interior with the external environment, plants.
Plants and architecture have a history of interacting with each other, enhancing one another. Plants help in setting the building within its context, its landscape – either urban or wild. And the architecture and its elements help highlight the plants that were planted around and within it.
Plants and architecture have always been closely linked. In the history of urbanisation, the creators of cities have always found space for a garden, not only as a productive place, but a place that brings rest and inspires contemplation.
In today’s fast paced world, strengthening the connection between architecture, plants and garden design should be even stronger, given the climatic changes that we experience.
It is vital to make this link even stronger when building the “ideal” places that humans need to live, work and relax positively.
To achieve this, architects, planting designers and garden designers should work together, collaborate and learn from each other, by sharing skills, expertise and experiences.
The connection between plants and architecture is inseparable. This means that from the very early stages of the building process planting design should be considered as one of the most important elements in the creation of places we live and work. Without plants many buildings will lack the soul and calm atmosphere that is key to human well-being.