Nestled within the historic Reford Gardens in Grand-Métis, Quebec, the 18th annual International Garden Festival is currently open for all to enjoy. In response to the all-too-familiar “nature-deficit disorder” that plagues much of society these days, participants in this year's competition had to create inventive “Playsages” that would inspire, if not remind, today's tech-savvy kids and adults to spend more time outdoors.
From tree stumps to climb on to a soothing soundscape garden, here's a look at the fully built winning schemes that were announced this past January.
La Chrysalide by landscape architects Gabriel Lacombe & Virginie Roy-Mazoyer, Vancouver (British Columbia) & Montreal (Quebec) Canada: “An invitation to take a break in time, between childhood and adulthood, to climb into the tree, make a nest and lay there to dream.”
L’Escale by Collectif Escargo [Pierre-Yves Diehl, designer, Karyna St-Pierre, landscape architect & Julie Parenteau, art teacher], Montréal (Québec) Canada: This on-site installation features small plots of land on wheels and kid-friendly wagons
HAIKU by architects Francisco A. Garcia Pérez & Alessandra Vignotto, Granada (Spain): “A lonely swing in the forest, a flooded path, a motionless stone. Everything is in place to appreciate the cycle of forest life.”
Soundcloud by Johanna Ballhaus, landscape architect & Helen Wyss, architect, Montreal (Quebec) Canada & Fribourg (Switzerland): “Bells attached to the ends of metal rods create the illusion of mist and clouds where a dialogue with nature begins and where stories can be told.”
The Woodstock by Atelier YokYok [Steven Fuhrman, Samson Lacoste & Luc Pinsard, architects, Laure K, teacher & Pauline Lazareff, architect engineer], Paris (France): “An unusual playground grows in the shade of trees and forms a play space where the children become giants, perched at the top of the wooden causeway”
Paysage euphonique by MANI [Claudia Campeau, architect & Maud Benech, designer m. arch.], Montreal (Quebec) Canada: “A set of giant play facilities creates a tension in our rapport with the landscape and forces us to see and hear nature differently.”
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4 Comments
Low-tech, how refreshing!
This festival always has such great entries...Low-tech, playful and perfectly small scaled.
Congratulation Soundcloud! So proud of you Johanna Ballhaus and Hellen Wyss. Awesome!
These are so good. Kids need only the lightest prompts to turn creative and have fun.