The importance of nature is reflected in how it offers us humans the lifeforce it encapsulates. This is why landscape architecture in the public sphere is an essential element for people everywhere. Nonetheless, this type of urban architecture can also exist in private areas. This way, spaces are created that swell the souls of those living there.
Green spaces, patios and gardens can be designed to reflect a sublime showcase of the functional and aesthetic in both public and private. A true green space providing a breath of fresh air to the everyday.
Just as the 20th-century impressionists expressed their particular artistic vision in contemplating and reproducing nature, certain projects appear to have blossomed directly from the gardens of Claude Monet himself. Light, water and flowers form part of a landscape that could be seen as an artistic showcase hewing spaces amongst the hubbub of urban settings.
Here at The Decorative Surfaces, we delve into some amazing natural landscape architecture projects. Many of them form a part of the public sphere. These green spaces seem to emerge from Romantic-era paintings or poems. They offer a wildness to our daily routine and a chance to commune with life itself.
High Line in New York
Like a true beam of light, the urban garden inspired by the Coulée verte René-Dumont rises in Manhattan as a homage to the ephemeral and sylvan. The naturally soaring vegetation offers the city a halo of oxygen. It’s set on ten-metre high former railway lines built in the 1930s.
The open space provides energy to the surrounding urban setting, creating an astonishing structural exchange. A good example of how pedestrians can fully enjoy the architectural structure is provided by the huge picture windows. Just like a film, they enable inhabitants to discover a different take on their city.
Musée du Quai Branly, Paris
Forming part of the architectural structure of the façade, the plant life here blossoms to frame a superb vertical garden. At the Quai Branly Museum, the natural doesn’t surround, but rather grasps the building.
The green wall combines with the glass to create an artistic canvas. It is part of the very essence of the design itself. In this way, living beings comprise part of the structure, creating different textures and hues that offset the more industrial square span structures that provide a solid foundation, which in turn contrast back with the lightness of the vegetation.
The Garden of Morning Calm, Korea
The aesthetic sensibility of Korean beauty lies in the concept behind this marvellous garden that inspires a sense of calmness and serenity. It is believed to be the oldest private garden in Korea. In fact, it is also an artistic space that combines asymmetrical shapes with the curvilinear forms of the living organisms it houses. At an architectural level, the landscape is composed of structures linked to Korean culture. It respects traditional morphology through high bridges and tunnels which, twinned with the flatness of the tree canopy, create a truly magical aura.
Gardens as architectural landscapes
The gardens above establish a connection that draws people into a sense of wonder and contemplation. This is precisely why architecture based on landscaping exists. It creates open spaces that divide in order to cultivate impressive visual balance. This relationship arises from the concept of structure bringing together different shapes and sizes that are key elements in helping imbue us with life.
