Flower Jam 2020
International Landscape and Garden Design Competition in Moscow
Sijainti: Moskova
Vuosi 2020
• Project Design
The 2020 competition did not have a specific theme. Exhibition garden designers were encouraged to focus on certain urban environmental issues, such as lowering temperatures, improving the microclimate, and increasing insect populations. At the same time, gardens were expected to enhance the social environment of the city by adding spaces and seating areas for gathering. Special attention was to be given to plant selection so that the gardens would invite passersby to step inside and slow down.I hoped the garden would be placed in a significant location where it would be especially appreciated. My preference was for it to be near a hospital or a place with many elderly people. In particular, I wanted fragrant traditional plants for elderly people with memory disorders, and Svetlana carefully selected these in her plant design. I designed a green roof on the descending leg of a swing pergola. We also wanted to include many edible plants and spacious seating areas. The garden would be accessible for wheelchair and walker users. For visually impaired visitors, I planned colorful stripe effects in areas where the garden’s function changed or pathways intersected.The focal point of the garden was an unusually shaped building, designed as a peaceful retreat where visitors could enjoy the beauty of the surrounding garden. The seating inside consisted of traditional hanging wicker chairs. Outside the building, integrated reclining chairs in the front glass wall framed a meadow flower area in front of the window. My idea was to create a garden that blended modern architecture with traditional cottage culture. However, after mentoring discussions, the design of the building changed, and the swing pergola was removed.
• Dacha of My Soul
The International Moscow Flower Jam 2020 was the last exhibition garden competition in Russia in which I participated. Once again, over two hundred projects applied, and a few dozen were selected. I worked on my project in collaboration with my Russian-born assistant, Svetlana Lavrentyeva. By then, she had already lived in Finland for several years and spoke Finnish fluently. Designers who had reached the finals the previous year also applied from Finland. The only project from the Nordic countries selected for the finals was our project with Svetlana. The competition category for our garden was ‘Social Gardens,’ which also meant that the garden would remain as a permanent structure in Moscow.In our competition entry, we wanted to highlight elements that unite Finnish and Russian cultures, one of the best examples being our shared cottage culture. In both countries, this is very prominent. We spend weekends and holidays at vacation homes with the whole family. I also wanted to incorporate elements that were personally important to me, such as accessibility and ensuring the garden could be used by all kinds of visitors.
• Team and Division of Work
At the seminar, mentors were assigned by drawing lots, and my Italian architect friend, Alessandro Trivelli, became our project advisor. I had met him a couple of years earlier and had even visited him in Italy. Since my mentor was an architect, he paid special attention to the buildings and structures I had designed. He is also an exhibition garden designer and had competed in Moscow’s Flower Jam festivals several times.
• Modifications and Construction
Although the main garden building was considered interesting by the jury, they wanted more sheltered seating areas. In my original plan, the seating area resembling a building had a small interior space. With the mentor’s advice, we completely redesigned the building, making it entirely different from the original final version. This resulted in an architectural design more reminiscent of a Russian dacha. The decorative window frames followed traditional styles, and the garden could be viewed from all directions.Sliding walls allowed flexible use of space for various purposes. The first 3D renderings of the new idea were created by Svetlana using SketchUp, while the photorealistic renderings were done by my Polish landscape architect friend, Wiktor Klyk, using Lumion. The original garden concept strongly emphasized accessibility, which we were committed to preserving.Although the renderings showed the garden placed in the middle of a sand field, in reality, it was meant to be built on an asphalt surface. While my mentor wanted to redesign the garden’s building into a relatively large structure for multipurpose use, I would have preferred to retain my original vision, including the striking large swing structure. However, a designer must be able to adapt to changes, even when patience is tested.Accessibility was particularly evident in dimensions and color effects. The garden was designed for easy wheelchair access. The outdoor terrace material was ecological Siberian larch. The multicolored brick paving was made of burnt clay, a traditional ceramic paving tile. Following old traditions, dacha properties are enclosed with hedge fences. However, in this exhibition garden, the hedge was only on one side to invite passersby to visit and enjoy the space.After the February seminar, March arrived, bringing with it the global pandemic. Flower Jam announced the festival’s cancellation only when national borders finally closed at the end of August. Until then, we had been left in suspense throughout the season, from spring to early autumn, wondering whether the exhibition gardens would be built even without international designers present. They were not. However, the city of Moscow organized a smaller festival with the help of local designers and volunteers. The gardens consisted of structures from previously built exhibition gardens that had been stored for potential future use. No competition was held solely among Russian designers. The promised Flower Jam 2021 also had to be canceled. By the time it was postponed to 2022, other reasons for the cancellation had emerged. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, international participation in Flower Jam ceased, at least for the time being.
All Images from the Competition
