ASSYMETRIC ESSENCE
YEAR: 2023 – 2024
LOCATION: RIGA
AREA: 900 M2
DESIGN: SINTIJA NAGLE, ANSIS BIRZNIEKS
A garden in the city, woven between geometrically strict forms and vibrant contemporary architecture. The modern building’s architecture, the differences in relief levels, and the narrow shape of the plot define this garden’s character: bold and vivid. A garden created for an active family’s daily life – a place to relax, play, and enjoy the presence of nature.
Asymmetrical forms, lines, and the use of concrete slabs in the paving create rhythm and structure, adding depth and a sense of spaciousness to the garden while preserving a distinct design signature. These lines continue the architectural language of the building, while the plantings respond with contrast – life, movement, and seasonal change.
The heart of this garden is a spacious terrace, divided into several mood zones. On one side of the terrace, there is a lounge corner with sofas and chairs; in the middle, a place for family meals; and right by the doors, a breakfast terrace. A little apart from the main terrace lies another, smaller terrace – there, surrounded by dense hedges, hides a SPA area with a hot tub and a view of the open sky.
The spacious terrace is structured by groups of decorative pots that also serve as a herb garden. The adjacent thuja hedge and planting bed block views from the neighbors, while the linden tree planted opposite the terrace steps will one day provide shade on the hottest summer days.
Deeper in the garden, a play space for children has been created, including a custom-designed two-story playhouse with swings and a slide, with an in-ground trampoline nearby. Next to the play elements, berry bushes and fragrant wild strawberries offer not only a joyful spark to everyday life but also an educational view of seasonal changes. As the seasons shift, children can witness the berry bushes transforming from budding flowers to ripened fruits, marking the passage of time with bursts of color and the excitement of harvest moments. Meanwhile, a solid wood bench, echoing the house's architecture, offers adults a peaceful moment of rest while the children explore and play.
In the front garden, the rhythm dictated by architecture is balanced by expressive plantings. Thuja “clouds” of different heights soften the building’s strict forms and create a sculptural, green garden landscape. They not only smooth out the relief differences but also provide aesthetic pleasure – as light, weather, and seasons change, the entrance to the house becomes softer, more inviting, and alive.
Asymmetric Essence is a garden that answers architecture with emotion – family-friendly, practical, and aesthetically bold. Here, children’s play intertwines with adults’ peace, modernist rigidity blends with the lightness of nature, and a small urban outdoor space transforms into a resilient, seasonally changing oasis that always looks impeccable.
Photo: Baiba Birzniece
