Kim Wilky. Between nature and architecture

/ Landscape /

"Look back freely and with love; look forward with hope, but without pride; but most of all, bathe in the present - it is eternal," says the famous British landscape architect, industrial designer and honorary member of the Royal Institute of British Architects, Kim Wilkie. And these words reflect the principles with which he approaches design.

Kim Wilky and his pets

Game with landscape

According to Kim Wilky, a game with a landscape in the blood of the British. At one of his public lectures, he mentioned ancient earthen ramparts, "rings" — mystical symbols that take us back to the times of the Druids. Kim believes that these were examples of the first full-fledged landscape design. The British stone circle of Avebury and the Valley of the White Horse, which takes its name from a large-scale figure carved in prehistoric times on chalk slopes 27 km from Oxford, these and many other objects scattered throughout England are examples of the early conscious work of man with the landscape.

The landscape is a mystery. It seems that he changes with every cloud flying over him, with the mood of the person looking at him. And yet he is immovable and timeless

The study of the most ancient man-made objects and historical facts about them is included in the course of lectures for students of one of the American universities, where Kim Wilky teaches landscape design. He shares his rich experience in the design of gardens and parks, which he creates with pleasure both for public institutions and for private customers from the most privileged strata of British society. Perhaps the secret of the success of his landscapes and lecture halls crowded with students also lies in the fact that Kim received two higher educations, the first of which was the history faculty of Oxford.

The Uffington White Horse is a chalk figure 110 m long

I heard a rumor — they travel far (Depeche Mode, Breathe)

Facts, measurements, archival drawings, wishes of the owners are the standard arsenal of a landscape architect. In addition, Kim Wilka is interested in legends, legends and even rumors. Based on a wide range of studies, guidelines, ideas, conversations and practical experience, the architect admits that the key to success is "listening to stories, and then continuing them, allowing memory and imagination to create what, in fact, was before, just by inhaling the object has a fresh design that does not distort the overall image."

"Battle on the Bridge (Battle between Emperors Maxentius and Constantine)", Claude Lorrain, 1655

"View of La Crescenta", Claude Lorrain, 1649.

Kim Wilkie founded his own workshop Kim Wilkie Associates in London in 1989. In almost 30 years of existence, his office has created more than 60 objects around the world. Moreover, himself prince Charles noted Wilky as one of the best landscape architects in Great Britain. At the same time, the architect never boasted of star status and did not make secrets out of his own "universities", happily talking about the personalities and historical landscapes that influenced his work. He sincerely admires the works of Charles Bridgman, who created at the beginning of the XNUMXth century.

"Landscape with Polyphemus", Nicolas Poussin, 1649

Kim Wilky says that the revolutionary gardener was at the origin of the creation of the same famous English park style, which is focused on the skillful repetition of the natural landscape, in contrast to the deliberate geometry characteristic of French park art.

Stand in the "heart" of the site and try to feel the Spirit of this place - then, perhaps, he will tell you the only correct solution

Drawing inspiration from the paintings of the romantic Claude Lorrain and the mystic Nicolas Poussin, Bridgeman became a genius for creating large-scale man-made embankments and small geometric sculptures from earth and turf, calling them "forms dressed in grass." The architect carefully created projects that were simple and at the same time expressive - the clear and clear play of light and shadow in the realized gardens fully reflected Bridgman's intentions. Seemingly natural blurred frames of his landscape compositions, formed from sparsely planted trees, directed the viewer's gaze to the fertile agricultural lands adjacent to the gardens.

Stow Landscape Park in Buckinghamshire is the work of gardener Charles Bridgman, who created at the beginning of the XNUMXth century.

The skill of the architect can be appreciated by visiting the still existing Stow park in the town of Buckinghamshire and the park in Claremont. According to Wilka, Bridgman's parks influenced the further development of free naturalistic forms in the creation of landscapes, but geometric turf sculptures were revived only in the Art Deco era in the 1930s.

Kim Wilkie himself used Bridgman's methods when creating one of his first projects — a garden at the Heveningham Hall estate, located in the English county of Suffolk. According to the architect, Heveningham is one of those luxurious country houses of the XNUMXth century, on which the best architects of the time worked: "Sir Robert Taylor designed the building itself, James Wyatt designed its interiors, and Lancelot Brown developed the landscape design." But Brown's large-scale project was never implemented due to the death of the architect - the manor has existed for almost two centuries surrounded by untouched nature and a homestead designed in the French style.

Cult site of Avebury in Wiltshire, consisting of megalithic tombs and sanctuaries

Kim Wilky and his team realized Lancelot Brown's project, based on archival drawings and slightly modernized them. So, on the territory of the park surrounding the mansion, originally designed two-kilometer lakes appeared, over one of which a stone bridge on three arched piers was thrown. The renovations affected the parterre garden, typical for the Victorian era, which adjoined the southern side of the mansion and created a number of problems - large plants shaded the interior spaces and blocked the view from the windows. Wilka's new project envisioned an open area surrounded by wide terraces covered with lawn, whose rhythmic order is based on the proportions of the Fibonacci sequence.

"Garden of Cosmic Reflections", located in the town of Dumface in the south-western part of Scotland - the work of Charles Jenks and Maggie Keswick

When reorganizing the picturesque park of the Great Fosters hotel, located near the British Windsor, Kim Wilky also solved a number of problems. The plot with an area of ​​about 20 hectares was an excellent example of landscape design of the era of Queen Elizabeth I. Initially, it served as a hunting ground for the Windsors, then the owner of the territory became the brother of the writer Jane Austen, and after some time the estate was turned into the first country hotel in the United Kingdom. But the M70 ring road, built in the 25s, affected part of the park and caused noise that disturbed the residents.

Bridgman's natural forms are manifested in modern landscape design - for example, in the "Space Garden" of the mansion in the Scottish town of Portrack, which was created by the famous couple of architects - Charles Jenks and Maggie Keswick. Modern ECO-ARTISTS — Andy Goldsworthy and Richard Long — are also developing the direction in their work

Kim Wilky came up with an original solution: at the end of the central alley, almost on the border of the park, he created a green amphitheater, the six-meter wall of which became a kind of acoustic buffer and protected the green area from noise and dust. At the opening of the new part of the park, a string quartet concert was held in the amphitheater, and although the distance from the busy highway was only 25 meters, this did not prevent the guests from enjoying the music.

The garden in front of the Victoria and Albert Museum is also the work of Kim Wilka. The simple ellipse of the central fountain is the focal point of the square, which is surrounded by park lawns, alleys with lemon trees in tubs, a greenhouse and the museum building itself

According to Kim Wilka, similar solutions can be applied not only in the conditions of large-scale country gardens and parks, but also in urban spaces. At the southwestern corner of Hyde Park, the architect's team redesigned the square, which is the center of the traffic interchange. They emphasized the natural drop in the ground level, created a wide bowl-shaped relief covered with lawn and as if delineated by rectilinear footpaths. And the trees planted around the green zone gave the park a sense of privacy and protection.

In 1998, instead of the old flowerbed in front of the London Marriott Hotel, in the middle of which a metal grid could be seen, a small pyramid, built from peat according to the architect's project, appeared

And although Kim Wilky writes books about landscape design, conducts teaching and expert work, actively participates in world architecture festivals, while managing to create projects and supervise their implementation, he allocated a little time to answer a few of our questions.

PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA: First of all, we would like to thank you for finding time for us, and also to express our delight - even in the pictures, your parks look peaceful and it is impossible not to admire them. Tell me, what is the landscape for you?

KIM WILKY: For me, it means the relationship between people and the world of nature. It can be decorated with all courtesy, imagination, feeling its elegance, or with indifferent disrespect.

Boughton Park is one of Kim Wilka's relatively recent works. It was built at the beginning of the 7th century. for the Duke of Baclue. The last owner of the title engaged an architect to work on the renewal of the old park. The scale of the allocated space made it possible to create several "inverted pyramids" with terraces that descend XNUMX meters below ground level

PM: With your approach, you resemble an adult, conscious, but still child, choosing a gift for elderly parents. What do you most pay attention to as a landscape architect when creating a new garden?

K.U.: I consider gardens as very personal spaces and usually try to encourage the owners of the plot to create their own private places for living. My main task as a landscape architect is to try to help form a long-term natural system that will reflect a thousand-year history and fit into people's memories of this area.

The regular part of the Great Fosters hotel park, located near the main building

PM: Speaking of ancient times, in the process of designing each park or garden, you use the principle of the golden section, known since ancient times and which is the basis of creating a visually harmonious object. And what are the other secrets of flawlessness of your landscapes?

K.U.: Of course, Western design is based on the geometric proportions of the golden section. When you work with historical landscapes, it is quite logical to turn to a well-known vocabulary. And it will be really comfortable for our eyes to look at what is created according to harmonic Greek patterns. However, this, of course, is not the only way to develop the project...

PM: Kim, you are known for the fact that first of all you research all the details of the land you are going to work with. We know that you use all the facts about the design object. How much do you trust legends and folklore?

K.U.: As a historian, I am sure that the connections between facts and legends are blurred. And yet we live these stories, and personally I love the narrative.

Photo: Tessa Traeger / National Portrait Gallery, London

PM: Tell me, what three gardens in the world would you mention? And how did they impress you?

K.U.: I prefer landscapes to gardens. I love deserts, lakes and prehistoric natural landscapes.

PM: You have to work with various clients, including British dignitaries. What is the secret of creating and implementing a successful project for such demanding customers?

K.U.: Working with the landscape, you must create a personal deep contact with the place, the people and the landowner. I realized very early that you need to work only with people who admire you.

Green amphitheater
Located at the end of the central alley of Great Fosters Park, almost on the border of the site and the M25 highway. It became a kind of acoustic buffer, protecting the green zone from noise and dust

PM: What was your most difficult project? And how did you solve the problems?

K.U.: Any project that changes a familiar landscape for a long time causes violent reactions. Cutting down old trees, for example, can provoke protests. As disappointing as this innate conservatism may be, it also shows that people care about what surrounds them. So listening, explaining and persuading is the most important thing a landscape architect should do.

PM: Thank you for your answers! And finally, what would you advise novice landscape designers?

K.U.: They will start with geology, hydrology and agriculture. Everything originates there. And then — learn all the legends about the chosen place.

 

And about the landscaping of internal spaces, which even in the middle of winter allows you to briefly return to summer, read in our material "Don't say goodbye to summer. Inner gardens".