Garden Pavilion

The Project

An innovative bronze pavilion was developed as part of a collaboration with landscape designer Tom Stuart Smith for the walled garden of a large family home in Cheshire. As well as providing shelter, the pavilion is also designed to establish thresholds, and to frame views of the garden. Its bronze roof appears elegant and simple, with a narrow edge that belies the weight of the material. Inside the pavilion, light is refracted from the many angled surfaces of the ceiling. To achieve the unique geometry required hours of meticulous detailing in close collaboration with the fabricator. Similar pavilions have since been created for the Chelsea Flower Show and for other private gardens.

Photos by Marianne Majerus

JFA designed three bronze pavilions, a 'garden room', which is attached to the house and a set of elegant bronze gates. The gates are sturdy, yet their appearance is delicate. In the design of the gates, the historic and the contemporary work together; decorative leaf forms, inspired by William Morris prints are stamped out of the bronze. These cut-outs soften the hardness and weight of the material and allow one to see through to the garden beyond.