In traditional Asian gardens, teahouses are often located in the farthest corner of the garden. People get there by carefully designed winding roads. In the traditional way, designing the road means designing the behavior of the foot. When you visit Suzhou gardens, you can see impressive colorful patterns on the paths. Japan’s osmanthus garden villa is like a jewelry box, filled with a variety of experimental, but precious and beautiful paving stones. There are also wonderful examples of garden paths decorated with art in Europe, such as mosaic tiles in the bushes of Villa Gambria in Italy. Even in the contemporary Brion cemetery garden, a modern masterpiece, there are elaborate horizontal paths along the walls, grass, and water. Designer Carol Scarpa creates a feeling of getting deeper and deeper by designing continuous right-angle turns.
The designer’s intention is to attract visitors through the strong visual effect produced by the inclined retaining wall. Once in the garden, after a few turns, the pavement stones and the “nobleman” road guide visitors below ground level. In the lowest and most enclosed part of the garden, a small square is dug out to serve as a room for meditation alone, or to chat with friends, or even as a place to rest. The designer hopes that this space can create a kind of tranquility so that people can hear the sound of invisible drops of water.
Finally, the garden is a sacrifice to the sky.
Its shape tends to the sky, and it is always a part of the earth. The British ring design mentioned above is achieved through the most primitive excavation and filling technology. Some people believe that this is because people want to express their faith and respect for astronomical phenomena. In later times, the garden showed the same godliness. The Baroque reflecting pool serves as a mirror to absorb the infinity of the sky, while the courtyard of a medieval monastery frames the sky as an abstract painting. The designer mentioned that he remembered the wonderful experience of standing by the hedge of the square in the woodland of bradel reserve: the garden was designed by several American landscape architects. All this shows that the design reflects the beauty of the sky.
The garden, inspired by a dish, opens to the sky, stretching its arms as if waiting for the blessing of heaven.