Archive for the ‘Ideas & Inspiration’ Category
Travel Lust List: The Yellow Treehouse Restaurant, New Zealand
Thursday, April 12th, 2012
Image: The Redwoods Treehouse
Our travel lust list just keeps on getting bigger, every time we trawl the internet we spot another addition! Our breath was taken away when we saw these incredible photos of a restaurant wrapping itself around a Redwood tree in Auckland, New Zealand. The mighty tree is over 40m high and has a 1.7m diameter at its base. The pictures are magical to look at, the architect wanted the tree house to resemble imaginative childhood dreams, playtime and fairy tales. The tree house is inspired by various forms in nature – the chrysalis protecting the emerging butterfly.
Image: The Redwood Treehouse
Incredibly, the Treehouse was originally commissioned and built as a marketing promotion for New Zealand Yellow Pages. Yellow Pages wanted to create an advertising campaign to demonstrate to people that no matter what the project it is, yellow pages can help in completing it. They set themselves a big goal, creating a giant wooden structure in the sky. Yellow Pages commissioned Pacific Environment Architects to embark on the designs, and the build was set to a four month deadline.
Image: The Redwood Treehouse
The concept of building a tree house on a redwood tree was pretty challenging and required a range of consultants to get resources, the building consent accepted and to get construction underway in the limited time of four months.
As you can see from the pictures the design is an organic oval form wrapped around the trunk and structurally tied up top and bottom. Access to the tree house is through a 60m treetop walkway, which must be a real adventure for the customer arriving. Acrylic sheeting makes the tree house water resistant. It is around 10m wide and over 12m high with seating 10m off the ground, the kitchen and toilets are on the ground. At any one point the restaurant has the capacity to occupy up to 30 people with incredible views across the valley.
We are not going Antipodean climes anytime soon but this could defiantly be our persuasion!
Image: The Redwood Treehouse
Wayward Plants
Wednesday, April 11th, 2012
Wayward Plants
We’re always on the look-out for creatives and designers working on interesting project involving the outdoors, there are some incredible design pieces utilising garden basics – moss, turf and planting styles. Wayward Plants is one of our favourite trend setters, they are a London based design agency creating imaginative responses to derelict urban sites and outdoor spaces in a boost to explore social exchange and botanical narratives. The agency works as a collective of designers, artists and urban growers putting together large-scale outdoor design pieces and events.
Urban Physic Garden: Wayward Plants
Last summer we featured the Urban Physic garden in Southwark, an imaginative pop-up garden shaped by the design of hospitals and pharmacies focusing on medicinal plants and herbs that heal. Wayward Plants were responsible for the creation of the garden, and the journey from concept to reality. This year has even been more exciting for the agency, Wayward have been responsible for the new Living Technology Garden in the Google Campus London garden, a unique co-working space in the heart of East London’s Tech City which supports tech start-ups.
Google Campus London: Wayward Plants
A handmade moss wall wraps the courtyard, utilising an innovative rainwater collection system. The gaps in the walls are tagged with Moss Graffiti, a guerrilla gardening tactic. Woodland plantings of ferns and hellebores fill the concrete planters in this shady space.
Google Campus London: Wayward Plants
The Living Technology Garden will facilitate ongoing collaborations with start-ups that merge plants and technology. We really think the garden fits the space and concept of the Google Campus, it should be a great spot for brain-storming and backdrop for entrepreneurs.
The team at Wayward are always looking for productive spaces, areas for food growing, and the imaginative potential of derelict sites and orphaned land for new projects. The first garden they created in London was a guerrilla garden on Old Street, which acted as a suitable testing ground for understanding which plants will grow on derelict sites, giving Wayward an understanding of how to mobilise participation, manage community relationships, and explore new visions for forgotten spaces. As one of the founders of Wayward explains, “now we walk through the city seeing potential everywhere, in forgotten corners, vacant lots, underutilised land and interim spaces.” Wayward has opened our eyes as well, when we explore London we’re on the lookout for seeing the potential in unused spaces that can be creatively utilised, a wasted space can become something imaginative. We really can’t wait to see the plans for their next project.
Secret London – Hampstead Pergola and Hill Gardens
Wednesday, April 11th, 2012
Image: urban75
If you happen to be exploring Hampstead in North London, a real must-see is the wonderful Hampstead Pergola nestled in the West Heath. The Pergola is a beautiful example of faded grandeur, and is simply one of London’s hidden treasures. Essentially it is a raised walkway, overgrown with plenty of vines and exotic flowers, and sits atop some incredibly dramatic gardens.
Image: Sophie-Ann, flickr
The Pergola was the dream of William H Lever who later became Lord Leverhulme: a wealthy idealist, patron of the arts, architecture and landscape gardening, and also Thomas Mawson, the celebrated landscape architect.In 1904, Lord Leverhulme purchased The Hill, a substantial house facing North End Way. He subsequently acquired adjoining land, and had the opportunity to create the Pergola, a magnificent Edwardian extravagance which would be the setting for garden parties and summer evening strolls and be a striking addition to the garden of The Hill. The designs for The Pergola were to be the best surviving examples of Mason’s work.
Image: Wanstead Walks
The construction for the Pergola was interrupted by the First World War, and the final construction was completely shortly before Lord Leverhulme’s death in 1925. The property and gardens were purchased by Baron who continued Lord Levehulme’s vision, however with the advent of the Second World War and following years the Pergola fell into decline.
Image: Pearly Puffins Nest
The City of London Corporation took responsibility for the Pergola in 1989, and ever since have been trying to raise investment to restore it to its former glory. However, what it lacks in elegance it more than makes up for in atmosphere. Today the Pergola and Hill gardens are distinctive, moody and eerie. The sense of faded grandeur is ever present, and even with the recent restorations it retains its unique character and sense of history.
Venetia Norris Pop Up Exhibition at Fenton House
Tuesday, April 10th, 2012
Image: Venetia Norris
One of our favourite artists, Venetia Norris has a new pop up exhibition opening in April at Fenton House in Hampstead, London. Linear Collections is an exhibition of drawings by Norris inspired by the beautiful walled gardens of Fenton House. Her passion for drawing directly from life allows her to present a detailed snapshot of the organic world as she plays with tradition versus modernity. We particularly like Norris’ strong lines and depictions of the natural world through her beautiful drawings.
Image: Venetia Norris
Although this exhibition focuses mostly on flowers and plants, Norris finds their shape and form more captivating than the subjects themselves. Some of Norris’s drawings are displayed in antique frames that create an interesting visual dialogue with the delicacy of line. Coming from a resolutely feminine art history, flower depictions have been pursued and developed over the years, recently by such notable artists as Georgia O’Keefe and Dame Elizabeth Blackadder. Norris has followed in their footsteps and her detailed studies focus on the intricate forms in nature, analysing their structures in a beautiful and mesmerising way.
Fenton House, Hampstead
Fenton House is well-known as a collection of collections and the temporary installation of Norris’s exhibition enhances this theme. As Norris has spent time in, and come to know, the gardens at Fenton, she has found inspiration in a wider range of plant forms including vegetables and fruit.
To coincide with the Open Garden Squares Weekend and Fenton’s Summer Tea Party, the artist will be holding a number of 30-45-minute drawing workshops on 4 th and 9 th June 2012 (these will be held at 11.30am, 12.30pm, 2.30pm and 3.30pm on both days). Materials will be provided. Classes are free of charge but a donation is requested to contribute to the upkeep of the gardens.
Exhibition Dates: Wednesday 4 th April – Sunday 1 st July 2012
Location: Fenton House and Garden, Hampstead Grove, London NW3 6SP
Opening Hours: Wednesdays-Sundays, 11am-5pm (last admission at 4.30pm)
Dip-dye Trend
Thursday, April 5th, 2012
Image: Dries Van Noten
The new trend that has swept throughout fashion, hair and beauty has finally hit the world of interiors, yes we are talking about dip dye. I recently saw this wonderful blog about dip dye from non other than the doyenne of interiors….Martha Stewart. Known as the ombre effect, in which the colors are dip dyed to gradually fade.
Image: Martha Stewart
The ombre effect can be easily achieved at home, and is created with strips of overlapping cotton voile wrapped snugly around a straight-sided, inexpensive shade. The fabric is highly translucent, so ample light peeks through even when layered. Although this shade is striking on a pendant light, its hue and dimensions can be varied for versions that will update any lamp.
Image: Cheechow
Bleach hair salon in Dalston was one of the first hairdressers to bring dip dye back a few years ago, and scores of girls have been showing off their dip-dyed tresses ever since. It seeped into clothes, and Martha has re-claimed it for homes. The effect works really well for flower arrangements:
Image: Welcome 1982
And for creating a very different tablecloth:
Image: Design Sponge
We’re going to see how we can extend the trend into the garden…..