Grant Associates, the Bath landscape architecture practice best known for its eye-catching large-scale projects across the globe, has won a gold medal for its first garden Chelsea Flower Show.
The firm’s Chinese-inspired Guangzhou Garden, pictured, shows how cities of the future must be considered as landscape cities.
Designed by the practice’s director Peter Chmiel and senior associate Chin-Jung Chen, pictured below, the garden takes inspiration from China’s third-largest city Guangzhou, north-west of Hong Kong on China’s Pearl River.
The city’s philosophy gives equal consideration to the needs of people and wildlife through sustainable city planning strategies, reconnecting people and nature in a mutually beneficial relationship.
The ambitious design was originally to have been displayed at last year’s Chelsea Flower Show, which was cancelled due to the pandemic.
As a result, the design was subtly adapted to showcase more mature plants and trees and aquatic designs that were perfect for the first autumnal show in Chelsea’s 108-year history.
Grant Associates’ approach also included one of the largest volumes of water ever to feature in a Chelsea show garden.
Known as ‘the city between mountain and water’, Guangzhou’s approach to environmental planning is based on the concept of ‘ecological civilisation’.
The city has a distinct environmental plan which divides it into three zones: social green space for people within the central business district (heart), protected green spaces to the north (lungs) and protected aquatic areas to the south (kidneys).
The garden’ three zones are united by an elegant, graceful drifting wave of green foliage plants including airy frothy perennials in soft shades of white, and subtle hints of blue and yellow. Variations of these colours, including vivid lime green, are woven throughout.
Peter Chmiel said: “We are absolutely delighted to win Gold at the Chelsea Flower Show. Our creative vision has been more than two years in the making and being awarded Gold is a testament to the whole team that was responsible for making the Guangzhou Garden a reality.
“It was a huge challenge to effectively capture and convey the essence of vast and vibrant Guangzhou into a 20m by 10m space, but we are thrilled with the finished result and how our aquatic displays and extensive, exotic wetland cleansing area have been received by the judges and attendees so far this year.
“The Guangzhou Garden encourages us to all think about our future cities as landscape cities that enable people and nature to come closely together.”
Chin-Jung Chen added: “We have been very fortunate to collaborate with such a creative team for our first Chelsea show garden and it has been incredibly exciting to receive many positive comments about the garden’s serenity and beauty.
“We hope that the Guangzhou Garden provides inspiration and a sense of calm to Chelsea Flower Show visitors.”
The garden was created on behalf of China-based culture project consultancy Creativersal and main sponsor, the Administration of Forestry and Gardening of Guangzhou Municipality.
It was created in collaboration with Sussex-based garden design consultancy The Outdoor Room, with its prominent bamboo structures developed in partnership with Bristol-based timber frame specialists Xylotek.
The living walls came from Biotecture, also based in Sussex, and the water features were supplied by Surrey firm Bamber Wallis.
Grant Associates, which also has an office in Singapore – where it helped create the city-state’s spectacular Gardens by the Bay, pictured – is working on a major project in Melbourne, Australia, which will include the world’s tallest vertical garden, and a scheme in Sydney to transform a former industrial wasteland into a world-class, vibrant waterfront area.
Closer to home, it has also supported Bath’s Forest of Imagination community arts event, promoted the delicate ecology of Wessex Water’s operations centre on the city’s outskirts, and helped regenerate Bristol’s historic Harbourside as part of a £120m scheme for developer Crest Nicholson.
