Corinth’s Garden


Design | 2020
In Vitruvius’s De Architectura, a story is told of a recently deceased young maiden from Corinth. She was buried at the base of an Acanthus tree, a basket of her prized possessions set at the roots. In Spring, the tree’s wandering vines awoke, growing up through the fibers of the young maiden’s basket; leaves and stalks unfurled, extending to form delicate volutes. This natural curiosity caught the eye of a passing sculptor named Callimachus, who was so inspired by this chance encounter, that he started incorporating an inspired design onto column capitals - creating the Corinthian column.

Regardless of the veracity of Vitruvius’s story, the lasting popularity of the Corinthian column is undeniable. Its verdant glory has crowned the columns of the Roman Pantheon to the United States capitol, illustrating notions of strength of fortitude for millenia. But what of the maiden? Or the artist and their concept?

In ‘Corinth’s Garden’, the design team puts the magic back into Callimachus’ vision by removing the Corinthian column from the grips of Western civilization’s most storied institutions and instead position them graciously back within nature.

Twelve columns, arranged into an open-air Roman pavilion, are each topped with a billowy Maidenhair Fern. At the center, a circular seating area and planter adorned with Thistle and Sedum offers a moment of respite for visitors to ponder the peculiarities of nature and the magic of the garden.

Endura-Stone™ Column | Adiantum aleuticumEchinops ritro ‘Veitch’s Blue’ | Eryngium giganteum | Sedum telephium ‘Matrona’ | Paint