outside in: the infinite garden by meir lobaton corona + ulli heckmann

outside-in: the infinite garden by meir lobaton corona + ulli heckmannall images © fabio ferrario

the ‘outside-in’ garden by architects meir lobaton corona and ulli heckmann, is conceived as a visual paradox for the 22nd international garden festival of chaumont sur loire, france – a device that enhances conditions in order to make the audience realize how by relying only on sight, they rely on imagination. the intervention provides a sense of how vision can become a shield that precludes the possibility of having a holistic experience of life – one that involves the entire body and that extends beyond it.

the experience of the garden begins when the visitor finds himself confronted with a seemingly void space, only the sound of his footsteps walking on top of the red sand surface and a minimalist white box mysteriously levitating sixty centimeters above the ground complement his experience. the weightless, 5×8 meter semi-cubic volume – defined by a translucent white skin– takes almost one third of the extension of the garden and works as a floating canvas where a mono-chromatic world of shadows are cast, suggesting the presence of what seams to be a tiny and inaccessible chunk of forest confined within. only when gazing inside – either by crouching down and looking under it or peeking through one of the peepholes scattered on top of the white surface – the visitor is drawn into an illusory space in which trees and plants vanish into the distance. the effect is attained by incorporating four covered interior faces with two-way mirrors that createa seemingly infinite forest reflected in all directions.

inside – the infinite forest

like the scene in ‘alice in wonderland’, in which alice peers through the keyhole of a tiny door onto a beautiful garden only to realize that she is unable to enter, this inverted experience of peeking inside to actually look outside, is meant to be both engrossing and frustrating. this voyeuristic experience allows for the viewer’s presence never to interrupt the tableau: the forest remains infinite and trapped inside this solipsist hall of mirrors while the visitor is confronted with the paradox of being looking inside a box where the contained space is actually larger than its container.

inside – the infinite forest

‘outside-in’ is a garden within a garden, a contemplative space, a small universe where landscape and architecture are fused to create an experience capable of raising questions rather than answering them, a live mechanism whose aim is to make us reflect on the contrast between what we know and what we see, demanding us to constantly negotiate the gap between physical reality and visual perception.’ says corona and heckmann. ‘it is a meditation on space, light, and the possibility of infinity as seen through the limitless reflections of a trapped narrative meticulously fitted inside a world of two-way mirrors.’

interior and exterior context comparison

inside – the infinite forest during fall

inside – the infinite forest during spring

looking through a peephole

looking under

view from the path leading to the site

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.