Designer Jo Thompson has added two further prestigious awards to her already impressive portfolio. Her “The Unexpected Gardener” exhibit at The Chelsea Flower show won the award for “Best Urban Garden” as well as the “Gold Award Garden Medal” – one of only eight awarded. Jo Thompson had selected HI-MACS® as a preferred material for key elements of her exhibit at the world’s most famous horticultural event.
The background to the exhibit was via the horticultural therapy charity Thrive which was selected to create a small urban garden to show how age or disability need not mean the end to gardening or a compromise to good design.
This was the first time that visitors to The Chelsea Flower Show were able to see HI-MACS® in use, the console table, the special fountain and as detail in unobtrusive support structures and as insets around the raised beds. When it came to the centre point fountain feature, Jo Thompson collaborated with designer Gareth Neil who has extensive experience in working with HI-MACS®.
Jo Thompson first discovered HI-MACS® when she saw the renowned “Anne Table” by Gareth Neal featuring a design within a design. She contacted him and he extolled the virtues of the material. “I was absolutely thrilled with HI-MACS®, its properties and versatility. I decided to include it in both practical and decorative aspects of the garden’s design” says Jo.
With the Anne Table concept in mind Gareth Neal worked with Jo in creating the astounding fountain centrepiece where parallel horizontal bars of HI-MACS® are layered and cut to form a geometric feature but give the visual illusion of a flowing asymmetric shape within. The effect was both fascinating and totally stunning to visitors to the show. “HI-MACS® works well in a contemporary garden in that it is simple and pure, and these aesthetics ideally compliment the contemporary planting” explains Gareth Neal.
“Privett were delighted to be invited once again to manufacture a bespoke water feature for Jo Thompson's Urban Garden.” says Dave Dymott, Managing director, Privett International Ltd. “The design was produced by Gareth Neal who provided a sketch of the unique combination depicting a classic urn in a modern composition. Engineering drawings and precise sizes were calculated prior to numerous sheets of Alpine White HI-MACS® arriving at the Privett workshop. Cut into over 60 different shapes and assembled on top of a beautifully engineered plinth in the same material the Classic Urn is revealed within the tower as a hidden sculpture. Water cascades from an unknown source down the plinth spilling into a sunken reservoir.”
HI-MACS® offers Jo Thompson a number of its distinctive properties: It is totally water resistant and hygienic – essential in a garden. The natural stone acrylic material is also non-porous and non permeable and can be easily shaped and formed. Joins are totally seamless so that the resulting surfaces are completely sheer. HI-MACS® is easily maintained and cleaned so it can be used as a surface for drinks and snacks during a break from gardening for example and then quickly cleaned off to its original condition. HI-MACS® in Alpine white, as used in this garden, is perfect for the outside environment including seasonal temperature fluctuations and weather conditions. White HI-MACS® is also light fast and won’t fade or blotch under UV rays.
It let the exhibit have beautiful focal points while, at the same time, performing a highly practical function.
Name of installation: “The Unexpected Gardener”
Exhibited by: Thrive
Garden Designer: Jo Thompson
Designer of table and water fountain: Gareth Neal Furniture Ltd
HI-MACS® fabricator: Privett International Ltd
Material: HI-MACS® Alpine White
Photographer: David Devins
Chelsea Flower Show
25 – 29 May 2010
Royal Hospital, Chelsea, London
United Kingdom
