Erik Dhont goes wild in ‘unstructured’ Geneva garden
This Geneva garden is a spirited balance of art, architecture and nature, courtesy of Belgian landscape architect Erik Dhont for Karin Handlbauer, founder of Galerie Mezzanin
Designed to complement a renovated and extended 1920s timber chalet in the Swiss countryside, this lush Geneva garden is the work of Belgian landscape architect Erik Dhont. A deft hand at blending nature and architecture to produce artful, flowing, rich compositions, Brussels-based Dhont created this green design for Karin Handlbauer, founder of Galerie Mezzanin, whom he first met ‘on a sunny afternoon in Geneva at a dinner under the oak trees’. Fittingly, nature became a recurring theme in their relationship and this garden project.
Working against a backdrop of the Frey Architectes-designed contemporary addition to the existing chalet structure, Dhont composed an arrangement that promotes ‘a new spirit of art, nature and balance’. About two thirds of the 1.86-acre garden are dedicated to greenery and ‘reforestation’, including a leafy, undulating landscape and ponds to attract wildlife.
Among Handlbauer’s wishes for the garden was for it to feel ‘natural and easy-going’, and Dhont obliged. The result is a seemingly ‘unstructured’ garden that combines an organic feel with the right elements and proportions to cater to a range of functions – from swimming to entertaining and relaxing. ‘Architectural gardens are about framing the landscape, but here we worked differently. The void is the architecture, the hard surfaces we use are like spaceships floating in nature,’ says Dhont. He cites creatives such as British gardener Russell Page and Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa as sources of inspiration.
Oak, pine, black alder, and evergreen shrubs, such as yew and holly, are key features in the garden. Accents are created by cherry, alder buckthorn, lilac, chequer and hornbeam trees. A sculpture by artist Gianni Motti sits among the plants. A swimming pool that Dhont designed together with the architects in Vals stone, next to a terrace made of local granite, completes the design, adding a cooling water element to the soft, verdant landscape.
INFORMATION
A version of this article appears in the November 2021 issue of Wallpaper* (W*271), now on newsstands – subscribe today.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Aesop’s Salone del Mobile 2024 installations in Milan are multisensory experiences
Aesop has partnered with Salone del Mobile to launch a series of installations across Milan, tapping into sight, touch, taste, and scent
By Hannah Tindle Published
-
Dial into the Boring Phone and more smartphone alternatives
From the deliberately dull new Boring Phone to Honor’s latest hook-up with Porsche, a host of new devices that do the phone thing slightly differently
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Berlinde De Bruyckere’s angels without faces touch down in Venice church
Belgian artist Berlinde De Bruyckere’s recent archangel sculptures occupy the 16th-century white marble Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore for the Venice Biennale 2024
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published
-
Architectural gardens around the world to soothe the soul
From small domestic gardens, to nature reserves, urban interventions and local parks, here are some of the finest green projects that place nature at their heart
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
2023 Obel Award celebrates Kate Orff’s ecosystem-driven designs
Scape and its founder Kate Orff have scooped the 2023 Obel Award, which celebrates the landscape studio’s Living Breakwaters project
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Bas Smets on landscaping Notre-Dame, and ‘hacking' a city to fight climate change
Landscape architect Bas Smets talks to us about Notre-Dame, modern gardens, microclimates and more
By Ellie Stathaki Last updated
-
Sharp geometries and soft nature meet in this Surrey garden
We take a walk in a Surrey garden that combines sharp architecture by Surman Weston and naturalistic planting by Matthew Childs Design to great effect
By Ellie Stathaki Last updated
-
Omar Gandhi Architect’s new viewing deck celebrates Canada’s Maritime provinces
Architect Omar Gandhi led the design for Peggy’s Cove Infrastructure Improvement Strategy, including a new, accessible observation deck positioned on a unique vantage point of the glaciated landscape on the iconic Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia
By Nasra Abdullahi Last updated
-
Landscape architect Julie Bargmann scoops 2021 Oberlander Prize
The 2021 Oberlander Prize has been announced, honouring landscape architecture and Cornelia Hahn Oberlander – and the winner is American landscape architect Julie Bargmann
By Ellie Stathaki Last updated
-
‘The Gathering Place’ is a minimalist gesture on the Scottish landscape
The Gathering Place by artists Sans Façon, architects KHBT, and the City of Inverness brings together architecture, art and the Scottish landscape
By Ellie Stathaki Last updated
-
The Modernist Glade: an urban garden pops up in Milton Keynes
The Modernist Glade, a temporary, architectural public commission by London studio Hayatsu Architects and Danish artist Tue Greenfort, opens to the public
By Giovanna Dunmall Last updated