The visit to the botanical gardens has been one of my favorite locations so far. Initially, I did not think I would be very impressed with a big garden and a bunch of plants. However, it proved to be much more than an ordinary old garden. It is similar to the city in that each garden is a separate environment from the rest, with its own distinction and attributes to the garden as a whole. However, it is a place that provides a stark contrast to the noise and hustle bustle of a busy week day in Rio. The lush plants and abundance of water block out the city noises and surround you in an environment of calmness and serenity. The city seems, to me (a student who would be lost in an hour if driving its wild winding roadways), to be unorganized and confusing. However, the gardens have a clear organization and order with main axes and connection routes between and through gardens. The city is full of concrete, brick, and stone, whereas the gardens provide an abundance of organic plant life and animals (even monkeys). This gives a natural feel to the surroundings, like a place where you could relax and think clearly away from the chaos of the city. It is difficult to catch all of the color and lush plants and color in a sketch or even a picture.
Wiatt, I liked your comparison between the city and the botanical gardens , especially when you mention the oasis the garden offers in the middle of the city, however, I would alter that and say that the gardens offer a middle ground between the city which frames one side of the garden and the forest which frames the other. You are right in saying the gardens have a organized structure to them with the axis, however, there are also a plethora of strange and isolated paths that meander through the park without any significant relationships to each other. This is the beauty of the park, like previously stated it is an oasis from the crazy bustle of the city, the meandering paths allow one to slow down and enjoy the surroundings, something that is hard to do on the street while avoiding aggressive drivers and peddlers trying to sell their goods. The garden is a gentle submersion into the wild; maintaining formal shapes like those of the city, but using lush plantings rather than concrete and Portuguese stone. While the park serves as an oasis, it is still a private space that requires a fee to enter, this separation of the common folk and those with the means to enter the garden resembles how the elite used to be the only ones allowed access to the garden and it’s amazing Palm trees.
Wiatt,
I really like your point that the garden is like an escaping from the busy and noisy urban. I always think this is the function of a park inside of a city. But in this situation, the boundary between park and garden becomes blur. I wish we could spend more time in the garden, escape from the urban. I also notice that as we approach to the garden, the streets cape and pedestrian also start to become more organized and give an atmosphere of “an escaping way”. I agree with your about the clear organization and order with axis and connection within the garden. I think the designer really came up with a very smart way of helping visitors identify their ways by using the vegetations. Although the park looks so highly organized and have a strong axis, I was amazed that you can not really feel that kind of high control over plants when you were walking inside the garden, under the canopy. And the Lily Lake really break the highly manmade feeling in the garden. I like your sketch of the lake and the way you represent the water.