Private gardens Archivi | VALERIO COZZI

Italian garden in Riyadh

admin — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 15:59:14 +0000

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An Italian Garden in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, inspired by historical Tuscan gardens and enriched with the amber tones of local limestone. The exuberance of the design responds to the request to articulate the area in a variety of environments to welcome guest and chill out. Regular hedges, pergolas and wooden shading structures introduce to a sequence of scenarios that combine sharp lines and monumentality.

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The exedra at the centre of the site performs as hinge between the formal and the private gardens. Behind the brick arches, columns shaped as desert rock monoliths raise from a pond. The water feature is an adjustable filling basin that, as appropriate, is able to display joyful jets or to become a dry theatre for exclusive parties.

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This is an Italian garden also considering the importance of vegetation, that connects and differentiates the areas. Palms and local trees pruned on the model of cypress welcome guests with solemnity, while bright blooms and subtropical flora enclose the spaces reserved for the family.

Plan of the garden. The central feature of the exedra sets apart the representative areas (on the left) and private gardens (on the right).

Italian garden in Riyadh

Where: Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Area: 8.000 sq m
Year: 2009-2011 (design), 2010-2012 (construction)
Services: Green masterplan concept, preliminary, executive and construction design, water features design, shading structures design, paving design, assistance during construction

To explore more Saudi projects…

Landscape design for a family estate in Riyadh

Landscape design in Riyadh for a family estate, featuring over thirty different garden scenarios like an open-air Wunderkammer. In a country where desert rules, a visionary entrepreneur welcomed a project collecting a variety of green experiences. Autochthonous vegetation accompanied by Mediterranean and Sub-Tropical plant species complete the architecture, both outdoor and indoor, with scented secret […]

The moon in the well, sunken garden in Riyadh

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The moon in the well, sunken garden in Riyadh

admin — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 10:22:04 +0000

A sunken garden inspired by the old tale of the moon in the well. A sunken oasis with palms and water, reachable by descending broad lawn steps. Introduced by the scent of lemon trees and Lantana montevidensis shrubs, the moon in the well garden displays a crescent of grey-leaved shrubs (Leucophyllum frutescens, Santolina tomentosa, Senecio cineraria) embracing a black stone fountain. The opening in the light steel shading structure lets the water feature shine of light reflections. A further crescent of ultramarine blue painted wooden planks adds a vibrant touch to the space while screening from the windows overlooking the garden. The well consists of a precious round fountain made of Labradorite, iridescent dark blue stone. At night, the white marble cladding of the retaining walls reverberates the moonlight and the subdued sound of the shallow pond water.

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Project: Al Ammariah family estate
Location: Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)
Garden area: 262 m²
Highlights: sunken garden, stair with lawn treads and Cor-ten® risers, Mediterranean plant species, Labradorite fountain
Partners: Faris & Faris Architects (Amman, Jordan), Comatec (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia), Art Contracting (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)
Services: Preliminary, executive and construction design, fountain design, shading structure design, paving design, assistance during construction

Al Ammariah family estate landscape project takes advantage of any situation to grow a garden: even a stair, here, gets a green carpet of lawn.
Valerio Cozzi

The moon in the well garden: project sketch by Valerio Cozzi

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Construction works

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Landscape design for a family estate in Riyadh

admin — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 16:48:04 +0000

Al Ammariah garden during construction (photo by Ghassan Hourani)

Landscape design in Riyadh for a family estate, featuring over thirty different garden scenarios like an open-air Wunderkammer. In a country where desert rules, a visionary entrepreneur welcomed a project collecting a variety of green experiences. Autochthonous vegetation accompanied by Mediterranean and Sub-Tropical plant species complete the architecture, both outdoor and indoor, with scented secret gardens, formal patios, lawn carpets, amusing shrub shapes, artificial green hills, shaded terraces, private courts… everything is designed exclusively for the site and built from scratch.

In harsh climates such as Saudi Arabia, responsible landscape design means that any decision must answer to vegetation needs prior than to people. The multiplicity of gardens itself is a design answer to the local environment, where managing a small-scale size is easier. Vegetation collaborates to separate, define and shelter open spaces from the incessant sun, interpreting the intended use of each building and area with respect to local behaviours. Outdoor areas are designed to promote the use after sunset, therefore selecting plant species also bearing in mind lighting design other than considering water management and maintenance routine.

Growing a garden in the desert is a strong gesture that pushes to the extreme the relationship between human and natural forces. Rather than pretending that landscape design in Riyadh can be sustainable, I’d go for a more reasonable, attainable ‘responsible landscape design’. This means a disciplined use of professional knowledge and experience, questioning and listening to the place to make the best use of natural and economical resources, for the moment being and in perspective.
Valerio Cozzi

Materials choice and setting is also important to avoid overheating and to promote sustainability. The project sorts natural stone from local quarries for the paving, reuses stone scraps and smaller pieces as mulching, privileges plant species with low water requirements and groups them according to their irrigation needs to allow a wiser use of resources.

The construction of the family estate is nearly complete. In the end, the newly-planted vegetation is spreading: the broad leaves of Canna indica are getting familiar with the architecture, the pink bracts of Bougainvillea spectabilis and the bright blue flowers of Jacquemontia petantha vines are conquering trellis and shading structures as expected.

Location: Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)
Site area: 9.3 Ha
Year: 2015-2017 (design), 2017-ongoing (construction)
Partners: Faris & Faris Architects (Amman, Jordan), Comatec (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)
Services: Green masterplan concept, preliminary, executive and construction design, indoor landscape design, fountains and water features design, shading structures design, garden pavilions design, paving design, assistance during construction

Al Ammariah construction site – photo by Ghassani Hourani (7)

Landscape of the family estate during construction

Three reasons to fall in love with this landscape design project

#1

The construction schedule included the cultivation and acclimation of all the plants onsite, at the margins of the property, following the agricultural vocation of the site.

#2

Driven by the will to welcome family members and highly regarded guests with comfort and beauty, green areas are yet far from being crystallized postcards. Connections, walkways, driveways, exploratory paths and strolling promenades make the Ammariah estate an experience that is renewed at every step.

#3

The garden features have been developed in parallel with the architectural project, therefore providing a flowing transition from space to space and granting ideal growing conditions to plants.

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Historic garden on Lake Como

admin — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 15:58:54 +0000

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Conservative enhancement of the historic garden of Villa Allamel in Cernobbio, Lake Como. The landscape design recovers the original layout of the flowerbeds and leads small building works with quality materials to re-establish the connection between the nineteenth-century residence and its garden.

The outdoor paving of Villa Allamel is slightly extended with black and white pebbles in continuity with the ones already exhisting at the area dedicated to relax. The new edges in Sardininan granite, installed with the assistance of the gardener to avoid any damage to the root systems of plants, merge with the original ones. The landscape design enhances also the vegetation of the site, celebrated in the historical records of the Como Lake villas as an integral part of the panorama of the Cernobbio shore and of the Larian identity. The ornamental boxwood hedge (Buxus sempervirens) now pauses at the spots heavily exposed to the breeze. Moving elsewhere specimens made it possible to improve the vegetative conditions of the plants and to visually connect the central lawn to the iconic terrace on the lake framed by columns, covered with wisteria (Wisteria sinensis) at the arrival of spring. In order to safeguard the root pan of the centuries-old climber, the white-flowered hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata) enriching the basement are grown in in bottomless planters. Planted together with cushions of Vinca minor ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ to extend the blooming period to late summer, the shrubs are laid down freely giving a new lightness to the architecture. A compact island of muscari (Liriope muscari) re-establishes the pivotal role of the old Magnolia grandiflora sited at the crossing point between the main lawn and the terrace, between the garden and the private dock. The new planters, as well as the new pergola with diamond treillage designed by Valerio Cozzi for the relax area of the historic garden of Villa Allamel are in galvanized steel, anthracite grey colour – a contemporary development of the wrought iron parapets and Nouveau glass canopy of the estate.

Location: Cernobbio, Como
Area: 700 m2
Year: 2019 (design), 2020 (construction)
In partnership with: arch. Miyajima Hajime, Crial, Maurizio Pifferi by Lario Giardini
Materials: black and white pebbles, Sardinian granite, galvanized steel painted anthracite grey colour
Plant species additions: Hydrangea paniculata, Liriope muscari, Vinca minor ‘Gertrude Jekyll’
Services: Concept Design, Construction Design, Construction Works Supervision

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Courtyard renovation with SPA

admin — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 14:58:16 +0000

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Landscape design can turn a typical courtyard in Milan in a soothing private oasis. The courtyard renovation in Milan, Vigentino district, features an outdoor Jacuzzi surrounded by bamboo and star jasmine. A tailored, raised deck integrates both the volume of the above-ground hot tub and the planters. Evergreen climbers grow on custom-made grid panels installed on limit walls. The space is managed balancing privacy with the possibility to have a possible parking space. The new courtyard layout is inspired by the waving, well-raked gravel of Japanese gardens. The range of materials is minimalist and in line with the post-industrial style of the building: metal for structures and planters, wood for decks and furnishing, natural stone for the floors. Modern simplicity is achieved by refined details such as the vase with a cut to accommodate the beautiful existing Salix matsudana or the fluid laying of the paving tiles.

Location: Milan, Italy
Site area: 75 sqm
Year: 2007 (design), 2008 (construction)
Partners: archh. Elena Radaelli, Elena Bianchi
Services: concept design, executive design, suppliers selection, works supervision

Materials: Iroko wooden deck, Quarzite di Vogogna (light green), galvanized and painted steel, river pebbles.

Plant species: Chamaerops humilis, Phyllostachys aurea, Trachelospermum jasminoides, Vinca major.

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Residenze dei Giardini: coordinate terrace landscape design

admin — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 14:22:10 +0000

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Coordinate terrace landscape design for all of the 23 apartments of ‘Residenze dei Giardini’. Not just flats, not just flats in Milan city centre: this is an exclusive residential estate sited in the Porta Nuova district. Each home unit has glass parapets granting privileged views on the Vertical Forest, the BAM Biblioteca degli Alberi and the new urban skyline. The landscape design project features 23 different scenarios to introduce the show with lush and joyful vegetation. Green is fun because it brings in beauty and privacy at once. Each terrace has trees and shrubs that grow in tailored planters made of graphite colour painted galvanized steel. Botanic choices consider the specific sun and wind exposure of each spot. The green layout fades the presence of adjacent properties and facilities while playing with the panorama. Terrace landscape design is coordinated to provide continuity between properties. Planting choices are made to evoke the magic of Mediterranean flora: flush, aromatic leaves, vivid flower colors and fruits all year round. White flowering of Malus ‘Evereste’, Iberis sempervirens, Osmanthus fragrans are paired with the rosy corollas of Abelia grandiflora, Geranium x cantabrigiense ‘Biokovo’, Callicarpa bodinieri, Malus ‘Red Sentinel’, Euonymus alatus ‘Compactus’ and blue to violet blooms of Ceratostigma plumbaginoides, Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Prostratus’, Buddleja davidii ‘Ile de France’, Ceanothus ‘Concha’, C. thyrsiflorus ‘Repens’, Lavandula angustifolia, Vinca major.
Copper color of Cornus sanguinea ‘Winter Flame’, flame red of Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’ and lime green of Cornus stolonifera ‘Flaviramea’ prolong the color season to autumn.

Client: COIMA
Location: Porta Nuova, Milano
Site area: 630 m2
Year: 2017 (design), 2018 (construction)
Partner: Società Agricola Panda
Services: Landscape design, Works supervision

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Courtyard restyling in Riyadh

admin — Sun, 30 Aug 2020 15:15:23 +0000

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The restyling of the courtyard of a private residence in Riyadh creates an elegant and refreshing garden to welcome the family. A new floating wooden deck, installed over existing paving, adds personality and hides the new irrigation system. Lounge and strolling areas are separated by tailored planters and slight changes of level. In Saudi Arabia daytime temperatures may exceed 50°C, therefore open spaces have to be created thinking of nightfall: here, scented flowers and ornamental shrubs are enhanced by accurate lighting. Along the boundaries, lush climbing vegetation and tall shrubs ensure privacy, while wooden screens frame entrances and passages to make you feel inside a Hortus conclusus.

Floating deck – the making of

Al Malasz – work in progress mess

Location: Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)
Area: 270 m2
Year: 2013 (design), 2014 (construction)
In partnership with: Artemide, Serralunga
Services: Concept design, construction design, Plant design for arid climates, scenographic lighting design, decking design and technical advice, irrigation design advice

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