The six new projects selected to be featured at the 2014 edition are by designers from Canada, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland and the United States.

Afterburn
A post-apocalyptic experience that allows visitors to see how nature renews by itself after a fire and how she manages to heal damaged landscapes.

By CIVILIAN PROJECTS [Ksenia Kagner and Nicko Elliott], a Montréal-bred, Brooklyn-based art and architecture practice with an emphasis on the social potential of landscape and materiality. Through detail and construction, they seek to make legible the inter-dependency of anthropomorphic and environmental systems. By day, Ksenia Kagner is Project Architect at James Corner Field Operations. Nicko Elliott is Design Director for Macro Sea, a creative real-estate development agency.

Cone Garden Bocksili
This garden is a pop-up garden made of orange construction cones – iconic symbols of job sites and the never-ending construction, de-construction and re-construction of our environment. They will become planters, seats and cones that transmit messages to passers-by and visitors.

By LIVESCAPE [architect and landscape architect Seungjong Yoo, landscape architect Byoungjoon Kim, botanist Hyeryoung Cho, landscape designers Yongchul Cho, Iltae Jeong, Jinhwan Kim and Soojung Yoon] and media artist Byoungjoon Kwon, from Seoul, South Korea. LIVESCAPE makes creative, sustainable and narrative spaces using living and natural materials. They have developed projects in varying scales and work to establish the confluence between their artistic approach and economic sustainability. www.livescape.co.kr

Line Garden
This contemporary labyrinth created from security tapes closely ordered in the natural environment provides new perspectives on the environment when visitors enter and inhabit the space.

By Canadian artist/designers Julia Jamrozik and Coryn Kempster, based in Basel, Switzerland. Through installations, drawings, video and architecture, they investigate everyday urban situations and re-present them to be experienced anew. They are interested in the public realm and in the way that individuals and groups use space, both inside and outside. They been collaborating together since 2003.

Méristème
A macroscopic structural representation of plant cell system reminds us of the significant role of plant biodiversity to ensure the future of human society.

By CHÂSSI [Caroline Magar, Marie-Josée Gagnon and François Leblanc, designers], Montréal (Québec, Canada). CHÂSSI is a variable geometry group in the field of architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning and design. Members collaborate in the creation of ephemeral installations that seek to highlight architecture, to promote ownership of the premises in a fun way and to the promote art, culture and design.

Orange Secret
Orange Secret plays with the perception and the way we respond around enclosed areas. It explores the orange dimension of the garden by isolating this visual characteristic from numerous stimuli that complete the perception through our senses.

By NOMAD STUDIO [landscape architect and urban designer William E. Roberts and agricultural engineer and landscape architect Laura Santin], New York, NY, United States. NOMAD STUDIO coordinates an international network working together in landscape architecture. They tailor each project with a team specifically designed for it. This allows them the ability to maintain the flexibility, motivation, and diversity to face each project. www.thenomadstudio.net

Rotunda
A basin-shaped rotunda accumulates daily pollen and leaves that serve as food for birds and insects, which leads to the development of a new life in the garden.

By CITYLABORATORY [architects Aurora Armental Ruiz and Stefano Ciurlo Walker], Santiago de Compostela, Spain. This a collaborative architecture platform concerned with the development of design projects for cities and territories of historic, cultural and natural value. It is an initiative that brings together professionals, academics and students from various backgrounds for the realization of projects, workshops, events and publications. www.citylaboratory.org

Two projects received special mentions from the jury:
• Bal à la Villa by landscape architects Annie Ypperciel and Robert Desjardins from Montréal (Canada);
• sPOTs by architects Roy Talmon and Noa Biran [Talmon Biran architecture studio], Tel Aviv (IsraeI).

ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL GARDEN FESTIVAL AND THE REFORD GARDENS
The International Garden Festival is the leading contemporary garden festival in North America. Presented at Les Jardins de Métis, at the gateway of the Gaspé Peninsula, the Festival is held on a site adjacent to the historic gardens created by Elsie Reford, thereby establishing a bridge between history and modernity, and a dialogue between conservation, tradition and innovation. Each year the Festival exhibits conceptual gardens created by more than sixty architects, landscape architects and designers from various disciplines in a natural environment on the banks of the St. Lawrence River. Since its inception in 2000, more than 140 gardens have been exhibited at Grand-Métis and as extra-mural projects in Canada and around the world.

Cultural space and tourist destination for over 50 years, the Reford Gardens is one of the most popular attractions in eastern Québec, providing visitors experiences for every sense. A National Historic Site, the historic gardens and Estevan Lodge were recently designated heritage site by the Québec government. They will be open every day, from May 31 to September 28, 2014. Consult www.refordgardens.com for more information.

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, Tourisme Québec, Emploi-Québec and Canada Blooms. Economic Development Canada is the major partner in the development of the Landscape Laboratory project. Hydro-Québec has been the lead sponsor of the Reford Gardens since 1999.

Alexander Reford, director
Reford Gardens / International Garden Festival
Téléphone : 418 775-2222, ext. 222
[email protected]