Local landscape architecture an inspiration in UK

Local landscape architecture an inspiration in U.K.

Staff Report

The Rockford Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (RACVB) has announced that Rockford — known as the City of Gardens — is at the center of a competition for landscape architecture students at Gloucestershire University in the United Kingdom (U.K.).

Using Rockford as inspiration, the students designed garden concepts that were judged by a panel of experts from Rockford. The winning design will be featured at the Malvern Autumn Garden Show in Malvern, Worcestershire, in the U.K. this fall, which is expected to draw 64,000 people.

The RACVB has a dedicated representative in the U.K. to promote the region and build relationships. This project was a result of that activity.

“As the City of Gardens, we were thrilled Gloucestershire University focused their competition on Rockford,” said Lindsay Arellano, of the RACVB. “Our goal is to gain awareness for the region and tout Rockford as a tourist destination. Having the winning design on display with Rockford’s name on it speaks volumes to the thousands of people who will be in attendance at the show.”

Five Rockford garden design concepts were considered for the competition. The students each made a 2-minute video presentation highlighting the details of their design. The videos are featured on the RACVB-UK YouTube channel and can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/gorockfordUK.

The judges from Rockford included Tyler Smith, president of Tyler’s Landscaping and Rockford Park District commissioner; Tim Gruner, curator for Anderson Japanese Gardens; and Jim Wojtowicz, landscape architect for Klehm Arboretum. The judges selected Jake Poloni and Steve Mann as the winners of the competition.

“I was excited to see so much creativity focused on this concept,” Smith said. “Each design group had a unique perspective on how to best represent our great city. I applaud all of the designers for how well they researched and incorporated our history into their projects.”

Poloni and Mann now have the opportunity to build a 15-foot by 15-foot replica of the garden to be displayed at the prestigious Malvern Autumn Garden Show. To learn more about the Malvern Autumn Garden Show, visit www.threecounties.co.uk/malvernautumn.

From the June 26-July 2, 2013, issue