V-ZUG Inspirations Magazine - Magazine - Page 73
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Your studio works on projects all over the world. How do
you reconcile your poetic vision with the need to adapt each
time to a completely different geographical and climatic
context? Wherever I go, the first thing I do is talk to local botanists and learn as much as possible about native and imported
species. Luckily, plants have Latin names, so understanding
each other is not a problem. Then I go on site: I study wind
directions, the path of the sun, soil composition, rainfall…
Starting from the genius loci, the spirit of the place, I try to
create the ideal setting for eating, reading, sleeping, working,
gardening… Whatever the context–a school, a campus, a hospital, a church–I try to align my work with what nature already
offers. From there, a different garden emerges every time:
sometimes more diverse and colorful, sometimes greener
and more essential. Mine is not decoration; it is integration.
It’s an attitude that changes the way one designs, because it
means entering into a relationship and accepting that a project is never a unilateral act. Plants are not only to be observed
and studied; they must be listened to. One example is Arboreal Serenade by Swiss artist Sara Kieffer. This immersive
FOR THE LOVE OF TREES
installation, which is exhibited in the Tree Museum, reveals
the inner life of a Japanese pagoda tree through sounds and
moving images generated from real-time data about the plant.
In the Tree Museum, the plants themselves are set against
limestone walls that resemble painted backdrops. The
entire space seems designed to offer visitors a moment
of contemplation. Why? Over the past thirty years, I have
rescued a number of trees that were at risk of being cut
down to make way for new construction. At first I planted
them in a meadow, then I asked permission to move them to
a marshy piece of land owned by a convent. The nuns voted
anonymously using balls: a white ball meant yes, a black ball
meant no. In the end, all the balls in the urn were white, and I
obtained a 99-year lease on the land. I reclaimed it by planting bald cypresses, which absorb water from the soil. Then
I continued planting trees that would otherwise have been
uprooted because of the construction of a road, a house, a
parking lot. The Museum is an oval ring 400 meters long,
like an Olympic track. On the outside it is bordered by a yew
