Conference to explore creativity in garden design

An international line-up of some of the most respected landscape and garden designers from across the world, is set to see speakers sharing their individual approaches to creativity in garden design to reveal where and how they source their ideas.

The impressive line-up for The Society of Garden Designers (SGD) Autumn Conference, to be held on 16th November 2019 at the Royal Geographical Society, London, will include renowned garden designer Luciano Giubbilei MSGD, Japanese landscape garden designer Haruko Seki, garden designer Matt Keightley MSGD and his business partner Cameron Wilson and Greek architect and landscape designer Thomas Doxiadis. They will be joined by international landscape architect Jenny Coe and all will be offering a rare insight into how they nurture and cultivate their imagination while exploring new ways of looking, seeing and thinking about things to help create and inspire new work.

The conference theme is The Source 2: Inspiration, Creativity and the Big Idea, and will be chaired by multi-award winning designer, Cleve West MSGD, whose creative use of space and imaginative planting has put him at the forefront of contemporary garden design in the UK.

(pictured above: Garden by Luciano Giubbilei)

Luciano Giubbilei began his career in gardens when he moved from Siena in Italy to London in 1994, and has created large landscape projects in England, Europe, the US and Morocco. In his talk, ‘The Garden as Sculpture‘, he will explain how he believes exploring and nurturing a dialogue with artists, architects and plantsmen, is key to expanding and challenging the creative process.

Thomas Doxiadis will talk on ‘Designing for Symbiosis‘, and explain how this is at the heart of his designs, taking inspiration from what already exists to create landscapes that reconnect with nature.

Jenny Coe, in a talk entitled ‘Light and Sky and Land and Memories‘ will explore the inspiration behind her innovative and imaginative contemporary designs that has led to a string of high-profile awards including the Stirling Prize winning entry for Peckham Library.

(pictured above: Design by Rosebank Landscaping)

Matt Keightley, has earned himself a reputation as one of the UK’s leading garden designers, producing ambitious and contemporary garden designs across the UK and internationally. He will be joined by Cameron Wilson, co-founder of Matt’s company Rosebank Landscaping and they will be drawing on examples from private and commercial clients as well as Matt’s Gold-medal winning RHS Chelsea gardens, to explain what unleashes his creativity.

With studios in both London and Tokyo, Japanese landscape architect and garden designer Haruko Seki also collaborates with artists and designers across the world. In her talk ‘The Essence of a Japanese Garden‘, Haruko will explain how she designs with a Japanese sensibility towards nature, taking the garden and landscape as an art form and introducing 4-dimensional aspects such as time and memory.

Following its successful debut at the SGD 2019 Spring Conference, the Autumn Conference will once again be available via live-streaming and on-demand services allowing the SGD to share the experience with as many members as possible. Details of this service will appear on the SGD website – https://www.sgd.org.uk/

Photo credits: Top photograph ©Luciano Giubbilei, bottom photograph ©Rosebank Landscaping.