Garden Bubbles: Territory Created By Interest and Interaction

|WINNING COMPETITION SUBMISSION|
Of the many qualities found in public gardens is a capability to instigate group
‘territories’ within an open landscape. Successful gardens choreograph the
gathering of people: To be close to one another, to converse in a small group,
to celebrate with friends, and to observe the greater fabric.
These territories are often tightly packed together, especially in an urban
environment where open space is limited. And yet, as close as these territories
might be to one another, the successful garden is able to initiate conditions of
group intimacy, allowing a collectives of individuals to occupy the same region
while still feeling as if the garden is all to themselves.
Created for the PAFOS2017 European Capital of Culture, ‘Garden Bubbles’ seeks to visualize these conditions through the construction of a rebar framework from which ivy is trained – manifesting a virtual quality through a physical construction. ‘Garden Bubbles’ is a palimpsest of garden culture that instigates interaction through its relic-like and curious physical nature.
‘Garden Bubbles’ consists of four ivy-clad modules of rebar. The metal rebar
operates as a scaffolding, articulating each bubble as a wireframe. At the base
of each module is a metal pan from which soil can be placed and water
delivered. Ivy will be planted in the pan and then trained to follow the wireframe
bubbles. The ivy can be trained and cut to form only the bubbles, or left to
continue growing, eventually reclaiming the framework and taking over the site.
Seats cut from locally-sourced logs instigate occupants to occupy the bubbles.