Gardens for a Changing World

Brownfield – Metamorphosis

This garden encourages us to all to find beauty among derelict urban landscapes, evoking the brownfield and industrial areas that are now so common in towns and cities

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Specially designed steel sculptures give this garden great structure - they are softened by naturalised planting.

Awards

  • Gold medal winner

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Did you know...

Designed by:
Martyn Wilson
Built by:
Keyscape Design and Construction
Sponsored by:
St Modwen Properties Plc
  • The structure is provided by rusted Corten steel, including pillars, blocks and rings that reference manufacturing
  • There are two recycled concrete site blockers which, instead of being used as an obstruction, become useful garden seating
  • Designer Martyn Wilson has chosen a mix of plants, all fairly drought tolerant, which are likely to naturalise in an urban environment: birch trees, fennel, grasses, Verbena bonariensis, erigeron, and, of course, buddleja

About the Garden

Inspired by the Landschaftpark, Duisburg-Nord, Germany and the High Line, New York, USA, the Brownfield – Metamorphosis garden explores the legacy of our post-industrial heritage and the processes and aesthetics of regeneration.

Approaching the garden, the visitor sees a series of monolithic steel structures that reference the manufacturing industries of the Industrial Age. On closer inspection, the steel appears twisted and torn – a nod to the decline of these industries. Through the rubble, the decay is being replaced by the processes of natural regeneration, and trees and vegetation are selfseeding. This natural transition provides opportunities for wildlife in the heart of urban areas.