Monday, May 13, 2013
Stencils by Jan
My friend Jan has kindly offered to make the stencils for my project in France. Here is the result:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Test Floating Planter
Last weekend I went to Belgium to attempt to build a
floating planter for my current project, Floating Delights. Below are some
pictures of the building process and the final floating planter. Special thanks to the bottle collectors and my family.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Floating Delights
This project came about in response to the competition brief for the 2013 Hortillonnages Art, Ville et Paysage Garden Festival in Amiens, France. Through this festival, the Maison de la Culture de Amiens aims to re-define the Hortillonnages. The Hortillonnages comprises a series of man-made islands situated within the flooding area of the Somme. These islands were originally created for the production of food, but due to the evolution of agriculture in the last century they have fallen into disrepair. Through the Art, Ville et Paysage project the MCA aims to engage young artists and designers to come up with new sustainable uses for these islands and assist in their conservation.
My submission, Floating Delights, responded to the brief on 3 levels. Firstly it aimed to protect the island against erosion by using a retaining wall of wood and plastic bottles in certain locations and native planting in others. The retaining wall of wood and plastic bottles consists of a wooden structure that retains the soil alongside plastic bottle cladding, which breaks the waves and protects the wooden structure. The native planting areas will reinforce the banks of the island with their roots and provide a habitat for the local wildlife.
Secondly, Active local community engagement is encouraged through the process of building the garden in order to help progress the conservation of the Hortillonnages: the key building material, plastic bottles, would be collected from the local community. It also facilitates the promotion of the Hortillonnage, as collection points would be dotted around Amiens.
Lastly, this project devises a new type of agriculture more attuned to its environment and makes use of waste as a building material. The garden would consist of a pond with floating planters within it: these planters would gain their buoyancy from the plastic bottles collected from the community. They will be planted with edible aquatic and marshland planting that draw their nutrients from the water, simultaneously providing food while also purify the water. The planters can be reeled in through a pulley system so the plants can be harvested.
The last few months have involved liaising with the Maison de la culture in Amiens, France to make this project a reality. This project will be on site from the 18th of May and will be completed by the 2nd of June. The garden festival runs from the 15th of June till the 13th of October.
http://www.artcitieslandscape.com/index.php
My submission, Floating Delights, responded to the brief on 3 levels. Firstly it aimed to protect the island against erosion by using a retaining wall of wood and plastic bottles in certain locations and native planting in others. The retaining wall of wood and plastic bottles consists of a wooden structure that retains the soil alongside plastic bottle cladding, which breaks the waves and protects the wooden structure. The native planting areas will reinforce the banks of the island with their roots and provide a habitat for the local wildlife.
Secondly, Active local community engagement is encouraged through the process of building the garden in order to help progress the conservation of the Hortillonnages: the key building material, plastic bottles, would be collected from the local community. It also facilitates the promotion of the Hortillonnage, as collection points would be dotted around Amiens.
Lastly, this project devises a new type of agriculture more attuned to its environment and makes use of waste as a building material. The garden would consist of a pond with floating planters within it: these planters would gain their buoyancy from the plastic bottles collected from the community. They will be planted with edible aquatic and marshland planting that draw their nutrients from the water, simultaneously providing food while also purify the water. The planters can be reeled in through a pulley system so the plants can be harvested.
The last few months have involved liaising with the Maison de la culture in Amiens, France to make this project a reality. This project will be on site from the 18th of May and will be completed by the 2nd of June. The garden festival runs from the 15th of June till the 13th of October.
http://www.artcitieslandscape.com/index.php
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