How dreamy is this secret garden installation by Zaha Hadid & Paola Navone?

“‘The Secret Garden’, under the occasion of the Salone Del Mobile 2012, is an installation that has been conceptualized at the Orto Botanico of Brera through the initiative of two internationally acclaimed companies, Barovier & Toso and Citco. From an architectural and design point of view, ‘The Secret Garden’ is a fresh project that brings out the best in designer’s names, who have accomplished the objective of an ‘interactive’ garden. This jolly secret garden, (a common secret in Milan’s design week), has acted as a literal break in the sequences of design showcases and has unveiled the art of nature exploration. In-between the patrician roman houses in Brera, the famous northern Milanese district and the Brera Accademia Art Museum, you come across the lush botanical garden named the Orto Botanico. Although it is considered to be one of the world’s most unique gardens, it also represents various past scientific exchanges, as it was used to be the university botanical garden, fortunately echoing nothing of the delirium of its immediate surroundings.

Barovier & Toso and Citco aimed to convey their expertise into the breathtaking project by using their glassblowing proficiency to create lighting installations and chandeliers, and accordingly, Citco through the production of ornamented marble for surfaces; both striving for craftsmanship instead of a massive production. The installation was interpreted by the Paola Navone for Barovier & Toso and Zaha Hadid for Citco, who have approached Orto Botanico in the role of avid gardeners whereby they breathed new life into it. As a result, two different projects blended effortlessly into one setting, as architect and designer tried to experiment with each of the brand’s techniques for creating a forward-thinking installation.

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More mind-blowingness after the jump!

In Paola Navone’s project, hidden from the leafy surroundings, giant aeries in various forms and shapes, comprised of over 10,000 leftover hazelnut branches from the springtime pruning, lay on the ground or floated in the air. The accompanying chandeliers made out of traditional Murano blown glass welcomed visitors by almost murmuring to them. ‘Marino’, the iconic table lamp designed by Paola Navone sometime in the past, also made a guest star appearance in the enchanting environment.”

Zaha Hadid on the other hand, constructed a pavilion, by binding three vertical surfaces in marble created by Citco, which she claims pays homage to ‘the complex beauty found in the organizational patterns of the natural world’ and ‘ the peerless logic and harmony of nature’. Treating natural systems and materials as a base of architectural experimentation, is nothing new for Zaha Hadid, a feat that has come to fruition many times in the past. To keep pace with today’s world, her architectural company continually reinvents itself investigating new materials and re-discovering new environments to make together fully articulated spaces.” – Yatzer

Sources and photos: Yatzer and DesignBoom