studiometrico

We have always been fascinated by the way ivy is capable of climbing on tree trunks until they are completely wrapped up and by the way these deadly hugs transform trees into curious, dark and grottesque figures. Some years ago we started to work on a project for a private terrain in the North of Italy – published on this blog as Garden between apple trees – and one day, while we were driving home from a site visit, we bumped into one of these figures. We decided that ‘Green Monsters’ was a proper name for the phenomenon, and we fantasized of having some of them in the gardens we were about to design. But since we hate to kill trees, we started to think of a way to… ‘build’ them.

This is a very simple manual that we publish to explain everyone who loves Green Monsters how to build them. Although Green Monsters are a studiometrico invention, they are not covered by any copyright, so everyone can build one in his own garden or use them in his own projects!

Step 1

Observe natural green monsters anywhere you have the chance to find them, photograph them and show them to your receptive (or sceptical) clients as one of those reference images architects always use.

Step 2

Work hard on Photoshop to produce images that prove to your clients that Green Monsters are beautiful and can be inserted in a corner of their gardens to create a very special atmosphere.

Step 3

Full around with SketchUp a little bit to convince your sceptical clients and contractors that is possible to ‘build’ Green Monsters with little effort and maximum result.

Step 4

Find a joiner who’s good enough to nail logs together and trustful enough to accept that you’re not insane because you like askew and cranky structures. Use very good, long lasting wood, chestnut is the best.

Step 5

Don’t listen to people that ask you the meaning of ‘those odd western totems’, find a gardener that can provide ivy plants and that is patient enough to plant them and arrange them nicely around the trunks.

Step 6

Wait patiently, remember that good things need time. Go and visit your Green Monsters from time to time, observe them and shoot pictures to record their growth.

to be continued…

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 6th, 2008 at 6:33 pm and is filed under Outdoor, Projects.