Grant Associates connects people with nature at the Seoul International Garden Show
A connection-focused garden concept designed by British landscape architects Grant Associates has featured prominently as part of this year’s Seoul International Garden Show.
“The Vine’s Web”, a winding magenta installation, was devised by a design team consisting of Grant Associates' founder Andrew Grant alongside Ibrahim Diaz, Shingrong Wu and Oana Anghelache. Situated in a 150-square-metre garden in Namdaemun-ro Culture Park during the 2021 show and delivered under the central event theme ‘Link Garden, Think Life’, it has highlighted the interconnectivity that exists between people and nature - as well as between city and garden.
The annual event, organised by the Seoul metropolitan government, brought together 58 gardens from seven countries, all safely enjoyed outdoors during the ongoing pandemic. Horticultural designers from seven countries ― the UK, the Netherlands, the United States, Spain, Colombia, France and Korea ― contributed to the show, which was originally scheduled for October 2020 but was postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The city government made the decision to hold the event in May 2021 at multiple locations with smaller scales each, to prevent large crowds gathering in one place and minimise the risks of coronavirus transmissions. Half of the gardens, including “The Vine’s Web”, are remaining in place after the show’s conclusion for residents in Seoul to continue to enjoy.
The Seoul International Garden Show theme, focused around connection to the natural world, particularly resonated with Grant Associates, an international landscape architecture practice that places ecological principles and relationships at the heart of its innovative creative work, with a design process that is underpinned by a knowledge of human behaviour and nature.
The Vine’s Web is a visual demonstration that everything in nature weaves together into a connected whole, and it’s been our privilege to bring it to life for the Seoul International Garden Show this year. This three-dimensional experience for people in the city of Seoul to enjoy brings a softness to the harder, urban environment, creating niches and microhabitats within and around it that provide rich opportunities for interaction. The intention is that visitors can experience and sit within it, and really feel connected to the wider world.
We made the decision to build this beautiful, sinuous organic form in such a vibrant colour to provide an interesting counterpoint to its urban surroundings. Lit up at night, it becomes a beacon within the city, adding to the environment of Seoul.