International Garden Festival - Chaumont-sur-Loire Gardens of Color 2009 - The color of the elements

What the Venice Biennale is for architecture and the Cannes Festival is for film, the Festival International des Jardins in Chaumont-sur-Loire is for landscape architecture and garden art:

The garden production "La couleur des éléments" was on show at the International Garden Festival in Chaumont-sur-Loire in 2009.

The International Garden Festival for Contemporary Garden Art has been held annually since 1992 in the park of the Renaissance Chateau of Chaumont-sur-Loire, which is part of the Loire Valley World Heritage Site. In the meantime, it has advanced to become the world's most important garden festival. Garden architects, artists, designers and gardeners from all over the world present their avant-garde garden concepts and create new trends and inspirations for the gardens of tomorrow. Every year a competition is held on the basis of a given theme, from which the most innovative and unusual ideas emerge and are put into practice. The 2009 theme was "The Colour Garden". Among the 286 entries submitted worldwide, the entry "La couleur des éléments" by STEFAN LAPORT was selected. For the first time in the history of the festival, the most interesting gardens were illuminated in 2009.

Concept:
The garden "La coleur des éléments" (The colours of the elements of nature) was designed as a modern viewing and colour garden. It could be experienced on a parcour that accompanied the visitor into a surreal dream world and led him back to his starting point at the end. The continuous change of perspective along the path and the asymmetrical garden structure reinforced the impression of a permanently changing, abstracted world in which the natural elements of fire, water, earth and air are in eternal conflict. Stylized black lava created contrasts with white walls and red wooden walkways. The formal framework of the garden abruptly dissolved toward the center. Glowing lava in the form of red grasses emerged from broken garden clods, revealing the elemental force of nature. Artificial clouds of mist blurred the spatial contours and transfigured perception. Stylized trees and branches further exaggerated the overall abstract effect. Curved water channels reflected the firmament, creating a dialogue between micro- and macrocosm.