Walled gardens, originally enclosed for protection from animals or human intruders, are of late typically enclosed for horticultural purposes rather than security by high walls. In temperate climates, often the essential function of the surrounding walls is to shelter the garden from wind and frost, though they may also serve a decorative purpose.
The shelter provided by enclosing walls can raise the ambient temperature within the gardens by several degrees, creating a micro-climate which permits the survival of plants grown which would otherwise not survive in the unmodified local climate.
The walls themselves of the walled gardens are most often constructed from stone or brick to allow for the absorption and retention of solar heat, which it then slowly releases, raising the temperature against the wall. This allows for the growth of plants against the south facing walls which would usually require an increased temperature than the average of Great Britain.
One example of a walled garden in the North East of England, is the gardens of Alnwick Castle. Initiated by the establishment of Jane Percy, Duchess of Northumberland, The Alnwick Garden is home to a formal garden set around a cascading fountain.
Around 40-acres in size, the garden was designed by Jacques and Peter Wirtz of Wirtz International based in Schoten, Belgium. In 2005, a gated poison garden, growing plants such as cannabis and opium poppy, was added and 2006 saw the opening of Sir Michael Hopkins pavilion and visitor centre.
Reiach and Hall’s walled garden at Maggie’s Centre in Lanarkshire encloses itself and a series of internal courtyards and gardens in a perforated brick wall. Seeking to reinstate a sense of boundary and tranquillity to the edge of a tree lined estate which has gradually become overrun with car parks.
The wall surrounding Reiach and Hall’s design was built with handmade Danish bricks to give the building a tactile, crafted quality, and is intended to provide a degree of separation from the hospital grounds, while still offering a connection with adjacent trees and grass through the perforations. The wall conceals a low, modest pavilion, featuring a sequence of internal and external spaces designed to have a domestic, approachable scale.
‘The idea of something discovered, something only revealed through crossing a threshold appeals to us’.
Visitors arrive through a gap in the wall to an entrance garden, which features a shallow channel of water designed by Scottish poet Thomas A Clark and alludes to healing properties. Inside the building, a procession of communal spaces leads through the middle, including a kitchen, dining area and library, while more secluded areas are arranged at the sides, including counselling rooms and a living room.
Four small courtyards were added around the building to bring in light and provide sheltered outdoor spaces, including two in the centre that are topped with reflective perforated light catchers.
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