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project photo day 96
Photograph by Max Walewski
Garden 3.
Peek-a-boo

We asked ourselves, what is a border? It separates inside from outside, interior from exterior, self from other. That which is drawn crudely, when realized, comes to occupy a thickened space. What does it mean to spend time at that limit, at the edge? Architectural design is defined through the articulation of walls, enclosures: borders. Peek-a-boo flips one such border on its side to interrogate the edge between earth and sky, articulated as a lavender field of powder-coated steel grates. Above, four windows become trap doors which invite play, movement, and interaction. In their resting positions of up/down, they suggest multiple spatial configurations of the garden, constantly in motion. Below, the recessed ground becomes a rain garden, host to water-loving flowers, grasses, and shrubs. Over the garden’s life, they too will peek through their enclosure, softening the rigidity of “above” and “below.” Beneath these doors, children and adults, friends and strangers find steps which invite them to sit, to occupy the edge. The border becomes a table.

Grand-Métis, Quebec, 2025
Client: Jardins de Métis International Garden Festival
Architectural design: Stephen Zimmerer, Hermine Demaël
Key dimensions: 525 square feet
Photography: Martin Bond and Max Walewski
paper competition model
Paper competition model
paper competition model
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paper competition model
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paper competition model
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project photo day t-4
Photograph by Martin Bond
project photo day 1
Photograph by Martin Bond
project photo day 1
Photograph by Martin Bond
project photo day 1
Photograph by Martin Bond