Allegorical Garden - Chinese Theme

I haven't written about my Allegorical Garden for some time and thought that now was the best time to write a little about the similarities between my design and that of traditional Chinese gardens.

In having chosen my theme and driving force of The Art of War I had already chosen a piece of Chinese literature to base my spatial designs around. As Sun Tzu says 'A skilled commander seeks victory from the situation...' and I used the exisiting plantings and topography to inform my design, which is very similar to the way that traditional Chinese gardens are constructed.

Chinese gardens are also said to have 'Essential Elements' which I have tried to include within my design.

1. Proximity to the Home - The entrance to my garden is close to the residential building, and the main social area is the closest discreet space to the house.

2. Small - Unfortunatly due to the size of the plot, I was unable to meet this element of traditional design.

3. Walled - The garden may not be walled by ordinary standards, but the trees that surround the moat and the moat itself are used as a barrier. Only one point along this barrier is permeable, but this is to meet with Sun Tzu's quote 'Attack the enemy where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.' which I have translated into the design quote 'Approach the garden mysteriously, appear where you are not expected'. The area to the East of the garden which looks out towards the roadway hs also been cut off, by using tall, dense planting and a 2m high wall, alluring to another Sun quote '...block the frontier passes.' 

4. Small Individual Sections - I have tried to use this principal in some areas of my garden, but again due to the size did not want to make all of my discreet areas small, as this would have een out of proportion with the site. I have included small individual sections within the Woodland Garden area, which are used as seating areas for small groups of people. The secluded contemplation area could also be seen as a small section.

5. Asymmetrical - The informal nature of the garden makes sure that there are no lines of symmetry, although the two larger discreet spaces (Entertainment Area and Activity Lawn) are balanced in size their form is very different. I feel that I have managed to balance the size of these areas well together without the having the same spatial and emotional qualities.

6. Various Types of Spatial Connections - This was one of the main driving forces behind my spatial arrangements, I used both direct and indirect routes around the site to help me plan where my discreet areas would be placed. Sun Tzu says that 'The direct and the indirect; these two in combination give rise to an endless series of manoeuvers... they lead to each other in turn. It's like moving in a circle, you never come to the end.' which is the feeling that I wanted to give the users of the garden as they moved round the site.

7. Architecture - My design also contains a piece of architecture, in the form of the studio, which cantilevers over the moat, to bring my disabled client closer to this landscape feature.

8. Rocks - The main entrance to my site is loosley based on Japanese rock gardens, where the large rocks are angled towards the entertainment area, encouraging people to move forward. This is also backed up by another quote from Sun Tzu 'The onset of troops is like the rush of a torrent which will even roll stones along in its course. 

9. Water

10. Trees 

11. Plants

12. Jie Jing (Borrowed Scenery) - I have tried to borrow on vista or view in my garden, across the West of the garden out into the surrounding countryside. This view can be seen from the studio, entertinment area and activity lawn. This is the only part of the garden which does not feel fenced in or particularly bounded.

So as you can see I have tried to meet the Essential Elements as well as keeping as closely to Sun Tzu's quotes as I can while still considering, scale, form and function of the garden. I have also tried to use the garden to make the clients feel closer to nature and to use the garden as a retreat, from both the industrialisation of our age and the surrounding area, which was exactly what the Chinese tried to achieve in their traditional gardens.