26th Feb 2015
World Landscape Architecture talks to Andrew Grant about his inspirations
Grant Associates’ founder Andrew Grant was recently interviewed by World Landscape Architecture about his inspirations and approach to his work.
Asked to describe his approach to Landscape Architecture, this is what Andrew had to say:
“I take it seriously but try not to make it serious. I am interested in creating places and spaces that allow a moment of escape from the conventional world into a more natural, primitive, childlike space. Ideally this should have a strong and disciplined response to ecology and environment but sometimes is just about the joy of the experience.
“Being brought up on farm I was totally immersed in the cycles of the weather and lifecycles of crops and livestock. Blood and guts and mud alongside beautiful skies, wild animals, and just a great sense of life and abundance.
“Today, I see a huge disconnect between the majority of urban dwellers and the experience and joy of nature. At Grant Associates we place this connection between People and Nature as our principal reason to be landscape architects."
In the interview, Andrew was also asked where his starts with new projects.
“Our best projects are those that have a simple core idea inspired by some natural element or phenomenon (that defines the aesthetic and experiential qualities of the project) twinned with an equally strong environmental narrative (that defines the technical response to the challenge),” he said.
“Where these ideas come from varies from project to project but in most instances they come from a strong reaction to a place and a client. It can also be immensely influenced by the collaborators in the design team especially architects, engineers. This leads to a real diversity of design responses and we try never to be constrained by a house style or language other than the core principle of creative idea linked with environmental logic.
“Personally, I find the way into projects through frantic sketching and discovering a phrase or literary reference. It is always hard to get to the solution.”
For the full interview, visit World Landscape Architecture
Asked to describe his approach to Landscape Architecture, this is what Andrew had to say:
“I take it seriously but try not to make it serious. I am interested in creating places and spaces that allow a moment of escape from the conventional world into a more natural, primitive, childlike space. Ideally this should have a strong and disciplined response to ecology and environment but sometimes is just about the joy of the experience.
“Being brought up on farm I was totally immersed in the cycles of the weather and lifecycles of crops and livestock. Blood and guts and mud alongside beautiful skies, wild animals, and just a great sense of life and abundance.
“Today, I see a huge disconnect between the majority of urban dwellers and the experience and joy of nature. At Grant Associates we place this connection between People and Nature as our principal reason to be landscape architects."
In the interview, Andrew was also asked where his starts with new projects.
“Our best projects are those that have a simple core idea inspired by some natural element or phenomenon (that defines the aesthetic and experiential qualities of the project) twinned with an equally strong environmental narrative (that defines the technical response to the challenge),” he said.
“Where these ideas come from varies from project to project but in most instances they come from a strong reaction to a place and a client. It can also be immensely influenced by the collaborators in the design team especially architects, engineers. This leads to a real diversity of design responses and we try never to be constrained by a house style or language other than the core principle of creative idea linked with environmental logic.
“Personally, I find the way into projects through frantic sketching and discovering a phrase or literary reference. It is always hard to get to the solution.”
For the full interview, visit World Landscape Architecture