Commissioned by the Design Institute of Australia

From post-industrial sites to unloved sections of urban space, to ecosystems of graffiti, reclaiming 'degraded land' and a 'wilder' planting concept. This DIA essay highlights pioneering community and sustainability projects by Piet Oudolf, Cornelia Oberlander, Julie Bargmann, Studio Zewde, Taylor Cullity Lethlean and more. It dives into the natural environment and its impacts on community empowerment.

Vitra Campus, Oudolf Garden, Weil am Rhein, Germany

The spread of COVID threw several critical issues to the forefront of the collective mind. From climate change to social equity and wellness, many pre-existing concerns have been irreversibly heightened by this global crisis, which touches upon all areas of design, including green spaces.

Of course, the importance of greenery is not news. Private or public, large or small, wild or carefully manicured, parks and gardens are central to our mental and physical wellbeing, as well as that of our planet’s. The need for green space has long been at the heart of debates around the built environment, especially in dense urban hubs. Communal, green areas play a key role in neighbourhood empowerment and community building through their ability to bring people together and offer much-needed breathing space, touching upon more than one critical issue of our times.

Some two years of restrictions and on-and-off lockdowns around the globe have highlighted further the need for good quality, accessible, open-air, natural environments for all. Perhaps due to our longing for better, more carefree times, ruled by impulse, combined with the need for sustainable design that is in tune with nature, a strong desire has emerged for gardens that feel rich, wild, and freeform.

Projects such as Piet Oudolf’s garden at the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany, launched last summer, respond beautifully to this craving. The renowned Dutch landscape designer’s leafy creation at the iconic brand’s headquarters was timely. It arrived when most of Europe was coming out of lengthy lockdowns and a long, arduous winter into a more optimistic summer. The project is defined by Oudolf’s signature gardening magic, filled with lush and organic arrangements, awash with carefully chosen flower species and greenery. Now open to the public, it follows the style of other colourful and rich Oudolf creations, such as the garden for art gallery Hauser & Wirth’s outpost in Somerset, UK.

There was also the recent announcement of the inaugural Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize—the gong awarded in honour of the late, great Vancouverite, who made a mark in her field through pioneering landscape design. Community and sustainability, both key innovation leaders today, were consistently championed by Oberlander. ‘My passion is to be with nature and introduce people to it from all levels of society,’ she said in an interview that appeared in Wallpaper* magazine in 2018. ‘I believe in the therapeutic effects of greenery on the human soul.’

The prize went to American landscape architect Julie Bargmann, a professional known for her care and attention towards neglected parts of our built environment. From post-industrial sites to unloved sections of urban space, Bargmann tackled it all, a tireless champion of reclaiming ‘degraded land'—something we could all benefit from in our efforts to make our cities greener and our world more sustainable. Virginia-based Bargmann’s work resonates internationally.

Oudolf, Oberlander and Bargmann are all established names in their field, but new talent promises an exciting future for landscape architecture. Sara Zewde, the principal of New York-based Studio Zewde, founded just three years ago, has been included in 2021 Emerging Voices, the who-to-watch listing released annually by the Architectural League of New York. Zewde is also deeply interested in green spaces designed to support their communities while tapping into a 'wilder' planting concept. Her Graffiti Pier Park in Philadelphia, the redesign of a space that has been seminal in graffiti and cultural production, is a case in point. ‘The project combines a cultural and ecological approach, tailored to the ecosystems of graffiti, for which the site is famed, and of the historic marshland, upon which the site sits,’ she says. ‘We worked with the graffiti artist community and developed a relationship of trust with them. Then we looked at what species are on site now and which ones are productive for the ecosystem to determine what we can keep and what not. We proposed a more robust planting palette, as well work around infrastructure and safety.’

This idea of a ‘wild’, seemingly unstructured garden can appear in her work, although, she explains, such notions are not new in her field. Even the father of landscape architecture, Frederick Law Olmsted worked within the English Picturesque landscape tradition in the 19th century. Much like concepts of ‘wild’ planting, that approach was ‘reflective of a perspective that urban landscapes are places to ‘escape’ the city,’ Zewde says. Her current work weaves that approach with ideas of community, for example, at the redevelopment of the Kingsboro Psychiatric Center campus in Brooklyn into affordable housing, in a collaboration with Adjaye Associates. The open spaces promise to be overflowing with greenery. ‘We wanted to introduce this large immersive park. It’s not about escaping the city, as you are in a city. But it includes a textured perennial garden. The project is in East Flatbush, a vibrant West Indian community, and we really wanted to draw from the street life and translate the cultural life into the garden design,’ she says.

Closer to this Institute’s home, seasoned experts Taylor Cullity Lethlean are behind high-profile projects such as The National Arboretum project in Canberra – a feast of shapes and colours in a striking green landscape, spanning 250 hectares and some 100 gardens. Even though completed in 2013, this mixing of species, organic curves and planting that appears almost accidental seems in sync with current urges to break free and embrace nature. This translates in the smaller scale and domestic projects too, as work by boutique firms such as Eckersley Garden Architecture comes to show. ‘We create relaxed and tactile gardens that invite our clients to enjoy their outdoor space. You won’t find rows of box hedge here – just plenty of dirt under our fingernails,’ says the team, which was set up by iconic Australian landscape designer Rick Eckersley and is currently led by partners Scott Leung and Myles Broad.

Add to this, welcoming, open-air, quality spatial design such as Melbourne’s annual MPavilion, and you have a potent mix of architecture and landscape, nature and human debate; something that can help us get through these highly unusual times – and beyond.

Ellie Stathaki is architecture editor at Wallpaper* magazine. A trained architect, she studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London, and after a brief time in architecture practice, she focused on architecture journalism. She has contributed to Blueprint, Financial Times and The Guardian; co-authored New Modern House: Redefining Functionalism, Todd Saunders: Architecture in Northern Landscapes, and The Contemporary House; authored the Wallpaper* City Guides for Antwerp and Athens; and curated exhibitions in London, Athens and Milan.

Ellie Stathaki
Architecture Editor at Wallpaper* magazine

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