Landscape staff from the University of Greenwich School of Architecture and Landscape propose an Electronic Garden in the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College. It could be sited near the Pepys Building.
The proposal builds upon an aspect of the site's history. During the seventeenth century the Royal Palace at Greenwich had a garden designed by Salomon de Caus. The Oxford Companion to Gardens describes him as a 'French Huguenot engineer, garden designer, and author, [he] studied mathematics and mechanical engineering'. Sir Roy Strong reviews de Caus' design for Greenwich on pages 93-96 of The Renaissance Garden in England (Thames and Hudson, 1979). A German visitor , in 1613, wrote 'After this Your Grace was shown the garden: in the middle of the same is a large fountain [It] is a female figure [which] gives water out of a cornucopia [and] was gilded all over. [It] has several lovely garden plats around]'. Were de Caus working today, he would be designing electronic gardens. The School of Computing Maths and Statistics is based in the Old Royal Naval College and is working with the School of Architecture and Landscape. They offer programmes in Digital Design and Garden Design.
Drawing upon nautical themes the Electronic Garden could have a Floral Braid, Knot Gardens, Flags and other features.
Planted Braid. This will change with the seasons and could take several forms: groundcover plants; overhead plants; mosaic links; lights; flags; flares; fireworks. There could be a different sponsor for each season or for discrete sections of the Braid. Sponsorship could come from growers (eg Blooms of Bressingham) or big nurseries (eg Notcutts), smaller nurseries (eg Ruxley Manor), local colleges and parks departments. The Daily Telegraph publication, Green Fingers: a gardener's directory (1999) is a useful trade directory to the horticulture industry, as is the Royal Horticultural Society's RHS Gardener's handbook (1999).
Knot Gardens. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries 'Knots' were intricate planting designs inspired by the knot patterns used in carpet designs (hence the word 'knot'). We would like to have sponsors for modern knot gardens, woven into the Braid.
Water. Since de Caus was a famous hydraulic engineer, and wrote a book on the subject, we would like to see water features incorporated into the Braid. Sponsorship could come from water companies and from pump manufacturers with connections to the shipping industry.
Light Gardens. The garden is likely to attract many visitors after dark. Sponsorship of lighting features could come from manufacturers of outdoor lighting products.
Electronic Marvels. Renaissance garden visitors delighted in Mechanical Marvels. We would like to see Electronic Marvels in Greenwich, as their modern equivalents. Sponsorship could come from:
Computer hardware manufacturers (eg IBM have a building on the South Bank) and software manufacturers (the UK is very strong in the production of computer games).
Music Gardens. The UK music industry is also very strong and could offer sponsorship for musical effects along the Braid.
21st Century Grotto. There could be an underground cavern emitting steam. At night holograms could be projected into the steam. Thorp Park, Chessington or Alton Towers could sponsor the feature as an advertisement and then transport it to their Theme Park after the event.
Video Gardens. The colonnade can be used for video projection (eg for trailers of new films and pop music videos). Sponsorship is invited from film and video companies.
Sculpture Garden. Since London is the centre of the Europe's art market, we can invite galleries to place outdoor sculptures in the de Caus Year 2000 Exhibition Garden. We could also invite the Maritime Museum to sponsor a de Caus Exhibition to coincide with event.
