Project example: Country seat Kantelhoeve, Holland
With my first visit I found Jack Kantelberg standing on the driveway, in the first place not waiting for me as it turned out later. Nevertheless it gave a warm personal touch. The open and direct atmosphere remained the whole evening. We discussed gardens, but most of all art, love, nature and life.
Jack is a devotee of modern art. He has a true feeling for art and that is expressed in the atmosphere of the house. Regularly he offers artists the opportunity to create something new. And in this way he has given us the possibility to create a characteristic environment.
The task was simple. "A woman must feel at home and one day I want to get married in my own garden, although I do not know with whom at this moment".
I have witnessed this big event a few years later. The guest’s opinion was that the garden was created for a wedding. Anyone who knows Jack, knows the owls that inhabit his garden. At dusk he would take you into the garden to have a look at the owls and he will tell you about them with enthusiasm.
The garden is constructed in a connected in parallel, each with its own atmosphere and function. As a significant detail the gardens are linked together with a swinging beech hedge. The various gardens offer space not only to objects of art but also to many birds. And of course because one never feels himself the same, there is a space for every mood on each type used. From a cosy get together for a picnic with friends and acquaintances at a large open space.
The visibility lines, stipulated by the several works of art by Groenewoud and Buij, lead the walker from spot to spot and invites him to explore the garden with its surprising chambers. And then all of a sudden you pass through somewhere a passage through the hedge. An informal path, leads you along rough bushes with faggots, wood piled up and wild flowers. This part of the garden has been purposely left for the birds and other animals. In return for this you are always welcomed with lively birdsongs.
Designed in association with Gilbert de Jong
> Pictures of country seat Kantelhoeve
> Publication on country seat Kantelhoeve in Object special, 1999
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