The international call for proposals invited designers to create “Playsages” in order to inspire today’s young that outdoor play is just as interesting, if not more fun, than on-screen amusement. The 6 projects selected from among the 162 proposals received from designers from 30 countries responded to the invitation to re-think play and take part in the global discussion over nature-deficit disorder.

The new gardens selected for the 2017 edition are:

L’Escale by Collectif Escargo [Pierre-Yves Diehl, designer, Karyna St-Pierre, landscape architect & Julie Parenteau, art teacher], Montréal (Québec) Canada. Small plots of land on wheels, wagons for children, are made available to be chosen, adopted and brought along for our visit of the Festival site. www.collectifescargo.com

The Woodstock by Atelier Yok-Yok [Steven Fuhrman, Samson Lacoste & Luc Pinsard, architects, Laure Qarémy, teacher & Pauline Lazareff, architect engineer], Paris (France). An unusual playground grows in the shade of trees and forms a play space where the children become giants, perched at the top of the wooden causeway. www.atelieryokyok.com

La Chrysalide by landscape architects Gabriel Lacombe & Virginie Roy-Mazoyer, Vancouver (British Columbia) & Montréal (Québec) Canada. An invitation to take a break in time, between childhood and adulthood, to climb into the tree, make a nest and lay there to dream.

Paysage euphonique by MANI [Claudia Campeau, architect & Maud Benech, designer], Montréal (Québec) Canada. A set of giant play facilities creates a tension in our rapport with the landscape and forces us to see and hear nature differently. www.manimtl.wordpress.com

Soundcloud by Johanna Ballhaus, landscape architect & Helen Wyss, architect, Montréal (Québec) Canada & Fribourg (Switzerland). Bells attached to the ends of metal rods create the illusion of mist and clouds where a dialogue with nature begins and where stories can be told.

HAIKU by architects Francisco A. Garcia Pérez & Alessandra Vignotto, Granada (Spain). A lonely swing in the forest, a flooded path, a motionless stone. Everything is in place to appreciate the cycle of the forest life.

Two projects received a special mention from the jury:

Bleu Forêt by Pelouse [Anthony Bergoin, architect, Charlotte Deslandes & Cindy Ianniciello, graphic designers, Vincent Lalonde Dupuy, environmental designer & Xavier Laurin, industrial designer], Montréal (Québec) Canada.

LogOn by PORT [Christopher Marcinkoski, architect, Megan Born, landscape architect & Andrew Moddrell, architect], Philadelphia (USA).

All the entries are exhibited on-line on the website of the Festival as part of the annual exhibition of competition entries.

The jury was composed of: Amélie Germain, landscape architect with the Ville de Québec (co-designer of Nettoyage à sec for the 2005 and 2006 edition of the Festival); Erick Rivard, architect and urban designer, Groupe A / Annexe U from Quebec City (co-designer of Se mouiller – la belle échappée for the 2015 and 2016 edition of the Festival); Vadim Siegel, architect, ABCP architecture from Quebec City; François Leblanc, technical director of the Festival; and Alexander Reford, director of the International Garden Festival and Les Jardins de Métis.

About the International Garden Festival

The International Garden Festival is the leading contemporary garden festival in North America. Since its inception in 2000, more than 160 gardens have been exhibited at Grand-Métis and as extra-mural projects in Canada and around the world.

Presented at Les Jardins de Métis, at the gateway to the Gaspé Peninsula, the Festival is held on a site adjacent to the historic gardens created by Elsie Reford between 1926 and 1958, thereby establishing a bridge between history and modernity, and a dialogue between conservation, tradition and innovation. Each year the Festival exhibits about twenty conceptual gardens created by more than seventy architects, landscape architects and designers from various disciplines in a pristine environment on the banks of the St. Lawrence River.

The International Garden Festival is presented with the financial assistance of many public and private partners: Canada Council for the Arts, Canadian Heritage, Canada Summer Jobs, Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and Emploi-Québec.

To read

Experimenting Landscapes: Testing the Limits of the Garden by Emily Waugh, published by Birkhäuser, features a selection of 25 projects as well as essays by landscape critic Tim Richardson, landscape architect Marc Hallé and reflections from festival designers that explore how the garden can challenge our assumptions, provide new meanings, and change how we see even the most familiar things. It is essential reading for anyone practicing in the field of landscape, installation art or in place-making in urban and rural environments.

About the Reford Gardens / Jardins de Métis

A National Historic Site and Québec heritage site, the Reford Gardens / Jardins de Métis are an obligatory stop for all those visiting eastern Québec. Cultural attraction and tourist destination for 55 years, the Reford Gardens is one of the most popular attractions in the Gaspésie region, providing visitors with experiences for every sense. Located on the banks of the St. Lawrence and Mitis rivers, they are considered one of the great gardens of North America. Hydro-Québec has been the lead sponsor of the Reford Gardens since 1999.

The Reford Gardens will be open every day from Saturday, June 3 to Sunday, October 1, 2017. Children 13 and under are admitted free of charge. Consult http://www.refordgardens.com for more information.