at this year’s chelsea flower show, (UK) the designer philip nash decided to use Corian® DuPont™ for his contemporary garden installation ‘elevation’. sponsored by gavin jones ltd and DuPont™ the garden featured a walkway, terrace, seating area and waterwall all made from Corian®.

philip nash explains ‘the purpose of this garden is to entice and inspire; a retreat for the emotions
and a space to entertain. from within, the garden is viewed predominantly from elevated
perspectives which challenge your expectations. elements of glass, water and light create a
touch of magic, while the structural forms of architectural plants offer year round vitality and energy.

elevation garden by philip nash   made using Corian® by DuPont™

I am inspired by contemporary architecture and am very much interested in the ‘now’, so I wanted
to use Corian® in a progressive and unexpected way and to open a creative window to explore its
transformational qualities. Corian® adds a dynamic quality that you can’t get from other materials.
once I had this as a core central point for the garden, the rest of the ideas spread like wildfire!’

elevation garden by philip nash   made using Corian® by DuPont™

the main feature of the garden was a ‘seamless’ walkway made from DuPont™ Corian® in glacier white, which seemed to hover above the garden. stretching from the terrace, like a ‘coiled fern unfolding its fronds’, the walkway reached out to a swirled seating area on the other side. on the terrace, a cantilevered table and benches appeared to have been ‘peeled’ away from the catwalk. to enhance grip – and add intrigue – the walkway was textured with a subtle grooved pattern, created especially for the project by nash, carved into the Corian® surface using CNC technology. the walkway and seating areas also feature glass supports from fusion glass designs.

elevation garden by philip nash   made using Corian® by DuPont™

a two and a half metre tall curved ‘water wall’ made from DuPont™ Corian® created a ‘vertical ‘sea’ with an abstract design cut into the surface, reminiscent of the patterns left on the sand when the tide is out. ‘break’ points cause the water to flow down the wall like waves breaking on the shore.

the boundaries of the garden, made from DuPont™ Corian® in 6mm thickness in the ‘seagrass colorway’, offered another unique opportunity – to cut a design into the back of the wall which, due to the translucent nature of the material in certain colors and thicknesses, will is unseen by day and revealed when lit at night.

elevation garden by philip nash   made using Corian® by DuPont™

the planting is ‘ultra-modern’ and ‘architectural in style’. the plantation nursery sourced a rare chamerops humilis, plus cycas, yuccas and bamboo, and blooms such as agapanthus and alium, all of which contribute to this ‘contemporary setting’.

the philip nash garden ‘elevation’ received a silver medal from the chelsea flower show judging panel.

http://www.nashgardendesign.co.uk http://www.gavinjones.co.uk http://www.dupont.com/Corian http://www.rhs.org.uk/chelsea/2008