Re-constructing Garden: foraging for building
First-year BA (Hons) Interior and Spatial Design students reconstructed a 17th-century Kyoto Garden in the Parade Ground of Chelsea College of Arts, UAL as part of Chelsea Fringe, the alternative Garden Festival. It was made from reconstruction materials that were foraged from local skips, parks and gardens. The construction started with 100 discarded Christmas trees, collected from local streets and recycling points, after the festive season.
Image: © Takeshi Hayatsu
Key information
- Participants: up to 80 students were involved, from first year BA (Hons) Interior and Spatial Design at Chelsea College of Arts, UAL.
- Duration: the project was a part of the curriculum and spanned the Spring and Summer terms.
- Location: it took place at Chelsea College of Arts, UAL on the Parade Ground.
Between 2014-2017, Chelsea College of Arts carried out three construction projects on its parade ground, involving first-year BA (Hons) Interior and Spatial Design students. Re-constructing Garden, a collaboration with architect Takeshi Hayatsu and the local community, was part of the Chelsea Fringe, offering an affordable alternative to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. This project recreated the Urasenke Konnich-an tea garden from Kyoto, Japan, including a tea house and a minimal space of two tatami mats (approx. 4 sqm.).
Situated at the centre of the Parade Ground, the garden incorporated the ‘Mitate’ concept, meaning ‘to see’ or ‘to show’, and ‘to stand’, symbolizing a new perspective. This transformation aimed to surprise viewers with visual metaphors or allusions, challenging perceptions of reality.
Images: © Takeshi Hayatsu
Students utilised discarded Christmas trees from the local neighbourhood for construction. They were then divided into groups and created 1:10 models and scale drawings of the garden. In workshops they refined prototypes using the available resources.
The Christmas trees were repurposed into structural elements to form a bench, toilet, gate and teahouse. The final orientation of the structures included careful consideration of sight lines on the Parade Ground.
Contact
Shibboleth Shechter, Course Leader BA Interior and Spatial Design at Chelsea College of Arts, UAL – s.shechter@chelsea.arts.ac.uk.