Floating Forest garden design for the 2012 Chelsea Fringe Festival


In rich soil, forest trees will flourish for a century, sheltering fauna and flora. Then they can serve humans for centuries to come. For the 2012 Chelsea Fringe, 600 discs of sliced pine forest have floated from Canada to London’s Portobello Dock. We welcome them.
The Floating Forest Garden was sponsored by Quebec’s Grand-Métis International Garden Festival (220 miles north of Quebec City). The festival is near Reford Gardens (Jardins de Métis) – which were founded by Elsie Reford. The garden design is by NIPpaysage – a group of Canadian landscape architects. They came together at the Université de Montréal (in 2001) and have received many awards.
The Dock Kitchen (Portobello Docks, 344/342 Ladbroke Grove, Kensal Road, London, W10 5BU) is Stevie Parle’s West London restaurant. It overlooks the Grand Union Canal and the Tom Dixon shop is also here.

6 thoughts on “Floating Forest garden design for the 2012 Chelsea Fringe Festival

  1. Asheville Tree Service

    I wish I had that in my home somehow, thats gorgeous! I wonder how it was achieved

    -Tony Salmeron

    Reply
  2. christine

    The floating forest garden is certainly a candidate for a contemporary garden ‘style’: Eco-logical! It is gorgeous, well done Canada.

    Reply
  3. Tom Turner Post author

    Yes, well done Canada. How about ‘Post-minimalist’ as a design category. It draws upon minimalism but goes beyond it by giving layered meanings to the design.

    Reply
  4. Christine

    Damien Hirst is considered a post-minimalist. The critical factor in determining is whether the work is post-minimalist is whether or not the work responds to minimalism either as a asethetic or conceptual reference point.[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postminimalism ]

    True, the work uses minimalism as an aesthetic reference point and ecological concerns as a conceptual reference point, so it could be broadly post-minimalist.

    Reply
    1. Tom Turner Post author

      I thought I had invented the term Post-Minimalist! As they say, there is nothing new under the sun. The Wiki entry is good and much better than anything I could have done..

      Reply

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