The garden draws inspiration from the beauty of the industrial and ethnographic heritage of Allariz. The point of departure of the garden is a reinterpretation of the granite tubs used for dying the leather in the tanning process, industrial practice strongly routed in the culture of this territory. The intention is to create a space of contemplation, within which to sit, to walk and to observe flowers.
TANNERY TUBS
The underlying granite structure of the garden offers multiple small paths for visitor to follow, inviting visitors to discover and to enjoy the proximity to plants. It consists of a simple composition relying on the presence of a refined selection of materials, creating an environment for visitor to contemplate a series of richly planted gardens within the garden.
GRANITE
Granite is the material that conforms the streets of the city their character as deeply linked to the identity of Allariz. The granite grid of the garden plays an evocative role, acting as a stage for the garden of flowers to grow from.
WATER
The granite structure not only provide the formal structure of the garden, also celebrates the traditional systems of water storage, canalization and irrigation of the agricultural and industrial past of Allariz. Starting from a raised pool, water travels through a channel sculpted in the granite, in a route close to the visitor, bringing sounds and freshness to the space. The edged of the pool offers a place to sit and play.
PLANTING
The selection of species and their arrangement emphasize the natural condition of the plants. The planting utilizes perennials to create a dynamic garden that evolves during the Festival, inviting to visit again and again to enjoy its variations. Species with varied flowering periods, joyful and warm colours, diverse fragrances and textures, resilient and vigorous, allow the garden to establish and evolve. Plants are distributed in groups of different sizes whose own geometry does not follow the granite structure, interpreting the ordered freedom of vegetation when it occupies spaces abandoned by man.
EPILOGUE
The Xardín das Pías was design following the festival garden theme “Allaríz, Beauty that Inspires” and was meant to be a temporary installation. The client has decided it is to be retained permanently in Allariz as part of the riverside park where it was built. The intention is to dedicated it to gardening workshops for kids.
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Aurora Armental Ruíz (Architect and Master in Landscape) and Stefano Ciurlo Walker (Architect and Master in Urban Renewal and Building Restoration) started Armental Ciurlo Walker Arquitectos in 2005 in London. Today based in Santiago de Compostela, the studio integrates architectural practice and academic research through the platform CITYLABORATORY.
XARDÍN DAS PÍAS
1st Prize International Design Competition.
Design team: Aurora Armental Ruiz & Stefano Ciurlo Walker
Images: Aurora Armental Ruiz & Stefano Ciurlo Walker
Client & Contractors: Allaríz International Garden Festival
Location: Allaríz, Galicia, España
Area: 180 m2
Design period: 2012-2013
Completion date: May 2013
