Of the Trees

project LORD OF THE TREES Landscape Architect and designer Enzo Enea with offices in Rapperswil-Jona, Zürich, Miami and New York is devoted to landscape architecture. He has designed gardens and landscapes all over the world and won a number of prestigious awards along the way. We in the Czech Republic will also have the opportunity to admire his work – he has designed the landscaping for a unique project in Nebřenice near Prague going by the name of The Oaks Prague. Words: Eva Hlinovská Photographs: Enzo Enea Archive f you want to experience what it me- public. It is not simply a garden, of cour- Enea during our interview for Esprit LN. ans when nature actually forces you se, but the Tree Museum which Enzo Enea „I am an optimist as far as the future to become aware of its power, the- opened in 2010. „We should understand of our planet is concerned. But it is hard re is no need to make for the rainfo- that we usually take something from nature keeping that optimism when you hear the rests or journey to Alaska. You simply – but we should give something back to her stories you do each and every day – fires, have to pay a visit to the Swiss town as well. Trees are an essential part of our earthquakes, the devastation of the rain- of Rapperswil. There, in the industrial lives: after all, they produce oxygen,“ says forests. I think we ought to realise that we quarter of Jona, you will find the headquar- Enzo Enea in describing why he decided to need nature. And that it does not actually Iters of Enea Landscape Architecture. The build a Tree Museum in Rapperswil-Jona. need us. Hopefully it is not too late to sa- company was established in 1993 when ve it, even now.“ Enzo Enea took over the garden decorati- The Tree Museum The environment, the use of plas- on company founded by his father. Just as there are signs in a museum to tics and the monumental level of waste More than two hundred people now describe the different statues or pain- are issues that Enzo Enea mentions se- work there, together with Enzo Enea de- tings, there are descriptions here of the veral times during the interview. Who voting their time to designing gardens individual trees. There are fifty here and other than a man who loves trees and and landscape architecture in general. some of them are more than one hun- has devoted his work to nature should, Their work, however, also involves desig- dred years old. The collection is solely in fact? Perhaps this is true because he ning a variety of pergola, outdoor saunas composed of varieties which belong to spent all his summer holidays as a child and kitchens – everything you might ne- our climate zone. Enea frequently came in his grandfather’s garden in northern ed to be able to enjoy the time you spend across trees that had to be taken down Italy. It was there that he listened to talk in your garden. Or hotel gardens, or gar- and he decided to saved them instead. of growing plants and caring for trees, of dens for the family. When I stroll along the paths around crops, harvest and soil. The bright, minimalistic premises in them at the end of November, I breathe Highly-topical issues in terms of our which Enzo Enea GmbH/Ltd. is based bo- in the unbelievable beauty and the fre- relationship to nature are also treated by asts one wall that is made entirely of glass shness of the air (helped, of course, by some of the artworks found in the Muse- and which opens into a magnificent gar- the nearby mountain ranges), while at um of Trees and inside the company’s pre- den. This, however, is not simply an exam- the same time being surrounded by the mises themselves. „Over My Dead Bo- ple of the work of Enzo Enea. The garden, atmosphere of eternity (and I am not dy“, a piece created by Claire Morgan, which covers an area of 75,000 square me- afraid to say it). At that moment I have for example, which depicts the body of tres not far from Lake Zurich, is open to the to agree with the words uttered by Enzo an owl trapped in a ball of black plastic. ❮ 58 ❯ ❮ 59 ❯ Bringing the landscape and ces so that they hold together. Enzo Enea mostly in terms of the scale, work on the over, looking for the right words to ex- lent style of the late eighties, and was ho- building with the word garden – the architecture together won the tender for the landscape design project is the same as for other landsca- press his thinking. „It is very important me to waterfalls and live flamingos. same applies to the gardens that I de- Among his work, Enzo Enea has de- for The Oaks Prague, his very name pro- ping challenges taken on by Enzo Enea for architecture itself because it prolongs „Our biggest challenge is the diffe- sign. One obvious condition alongside signed the landscape for The Oaks Pra- viding clients with the guarantee that the all over the world. The philosophy on the lifetime of that architecture and rai- rence between the climate on individu- the functionality is the aesthetic quali- gue project, which is being built by landscape of the whole complex will be which he and his colleagues draw is one ses the experience of that unique place al continents. It is thanks to our philo- ty. Neither should we forget the different Arendon Development in Nebřenice absolutely perfect. of „genius loci“. „The place itself tells you we call home. Landscape architecture sophy of „genius loci“ that we tailor our outdoor buildings that have to work per- near Prague. Villas, apartments, a little „It is clear that my primary inspiration what to do,“ explains Enzo Enea dryly. connects you to nature, your surroun- gardens to match the local conditions, fectly in the garden. Everything is conne- town with shops and services, a hotel was the old oak avenue, which I decided to It is not quite as simple as that, of dings, and integrates the architecture everywhere we work, and this is some- cted,“ describes Enzo Enea, who obvi- and a golf course are being built over extend,“ he says in describing his work on course: the landscape architect must and landscape. You cannot be surroun- thing our clients value,“ he describes, ously uses natural materials such as 140 hectares of land within the landsca- the project. Incidentally, the oak is his fa- know to perfection the composition of ded by concrete and glass alone,“ ex - adding that in Switzerland, for example, wood and stone in his work. „What use pe of Central Bohemia. vourite tree – it is not only beautiful when the soil at the location, the plants that plains this charismatic man with medi- the most popular parts of each and every would plastic be to me?“ he asks rheto- The first stage of the residential pr- fully-grown, but the wood from the tree is have grown there for centuries (for this um-length grey hair and black-rimmed garden are a variety of fences and walls rically. operties and services are set for comple- used to make the vats in which wine ma- reason the first visit paid to new locati- glasses. designed to protect privacy. It is his view that gardens are impor- tion next year. Apartments designed by tures. „As soon as we found out about the ons sees the architects going to the lo- He goes on to say that the Ancient In Asia, people generally want trea- tant, and not simply because the value of Chapman Taylor will be built on the squa- project, we wanted to be part of it and to cal botanic gardens and consulting bo- Romans built gardens around their ru- ted and cultivated gardens, whereas peo- the property you own rises with the gar- re, while the apartments and penthouses have the chance of working with talents tanists), the microclimate, the direction ral villas, that the English in particular ple in the north favour the „rural aspect“, den. „The most important thing to me is that overlook the golf course have been such as John Pawson and Chapman Ta- and strength of the wind and the make- raised the bar and that the popular Japa- preferring practical gardens where they the quality of life, because you can spend designed by the no-less famous Richard ylor. Bringing our work and theirs toge- -up of the air (coastal air, for exam- nese gardens of today are just as beauti- can pick fruit from the trees and enjoy the best of times in the garden – time Meyer and Partners. The standalone villas ther is simply divine. And that is what we ple, contains salt particles, which some ful. „But you know what? I would never it. As it happens, even now Enzo Enea with your family.„ in the village, meanwhile, are the work of do best – bring architecture and the land- plants obviously do not appreciate). On- transport a Japanese garden elsewhere, remembers the taste of a peach that his And, of course, a garden is a place Czech architectural office ADR, founded scape together. After all, The Oaks motto ly then is the landscape architect able to as is commonly the case these days. Be- Italian grandfather picked for him as where Enzo’s beloved trees can grow. by Petr Kolář and Aleš Lapka.

Load more