A still life set within Utrecht’s University Library, serving as a viewing courtyard and a backdrop for the restaurant.

The inner garden or patio of the University of Utrecht is a still life of Wisteria, Mulberry and soft, red seating elements. The clean cut architecture and square base of the patio form the ideal context for an introvert garden. One of the patio walls is made out of wire netting which is covered with a haze of Wisteria. The square base with large black pebbles is surrounded by large concrete slabs and has an edge of lily-of-the-valley. The patio can be accessed from the restaurant and at various points red donut-shaped seating elements are placed that encourage the visitors to become part of the still life.
West 8’s concept for the garden design was brining life and death together. Large plane-trees grow out vulnerable, twisted and distorted, leaning heavily on the red crutches. In order to achieve the ‘fragile, twisted, heavy’ look of the Mulberry Trees, West 8 prescribed a phased-training regiment. The first step called for trees to be tied to a red power-coated steel rack in order to begin sideways growth. The series of controls applied to the trees create a certain ceremony of the often under-recognized temporal quality of Landscape, making visible the change and movement inherent in the medium.
Client
University of Utrecht
Imagery
© West 8