IrisAcqua \ Corten Garden

Urban Nature \ Iron Landscape

The recent renovation project involving the pedestrian entrance and the courtyard of the head office of IrisAcqua, the company that supplies drinking water to the province of Gorizia, is a low-cost, micro-architectural one.

From the beginning, the focus has been on building a landscape in a site where a deteriorated green space prevailed: the flowerbeds were neglected and the dull vegetation did not deserve the attention of those who crossed the yard - designed in the early 1900s - towards the offices.

The choice of weathering steel as building and modeling material for this urban landscape is based on a specific reason: the limited budget required the choice of an inexpensive material that, at the same time, could be durable and esthetically effective.

In fact, the weathering steel's hues blend with the colors of the soil and of the bark of the tall umbrella pines. The heart of inspiration of the renewed site is the combination of vegetation, the real leading actor of the garden, and weathering steel sculptures as extras, capable of dramatically enhancing the sight.

A variety of glimpses is ensured by the combination of the sharp and craggy design of the basins and of the flowerbeds with the curvy lines of the round "resurgence fountain" and of the balustrade around it.

The link between these two environments is the cement walkway leading from the street to the entrance to the offices.

The arrangement of plants has taken into account the fine species that were already there (Pinus pinea, Cupressus, Laurus nobilis), harmoniously combining them with the new landscape created by the weathering steel elements. The choice of perennial plants (such as Cortaderia and Sedum) guarantees both a limited need for maintenance and the prominence of the seasonal aspect of this environment.