21 January 2010 Video games inspire Ellerslie garden design

Four Lincoln University landscape architecture students will use imagery from traditional board games and video games to evoke childhood memories for visitors to this year’s Ellerslie International Flower Show in Christchurch over 10-14 March.

Emily Kelly, from Geraldine, Myles Rabbidge, from Wyndham, Josh Hunt, from Hastings and Megan Inder, from Balclutha, want their garden, titled Four Play, to stimulate visitors to think about “when I was young”.

“The thing with memories is that one memory leads to another, triggering a chain of thought about our childhood,” they say.

“For us, we grew up in the age of technology therefore our memories are based around video games and the culture these created. Four Play conveys this virtual realm in a three-dimensional reality.”

Four Play is designed by the third-year landscape students around a 2.8m x 1.8m Connect Four board. It sits centre stage, the foam yellow and red counters used to play the game also being used as cushions in the garden.

“Although Connect Four is a traditional board game, it has been adapted in recent times to meet the needs of the developing technological era.”

Subtly embedded in the garden design is an array of other games:

• The Sand Table is a relaxing Zen-like element of the garden which is representative of a Magna Doddle.
• The wall-hung herb garden is in the form of the Donkey Kong game, a step ladder providing access to the higher tiers.
• The bench seats resemble Tetris blocks, the moss squares emphasising the playing pieces of the game.
• The barbecue doubles as a large Pacman figure, appearing to eat the balls of greenery leading across the ground and up the wall to where the ghost hides.

There is a vegetable garden extending the length of the 6m x 6m site which represents the twists and turns experienced in any journey of a video game.

“What we wanted most with our garden was to have fun and fill it with lots of bright colours,” the four students say.

Four Play is the first exhibition garden designed by any of the team and they are all excited about competing at the Ellerslie International Flower Show, which they say is an important stepping stone to launch their careers.

Ellerslie International Flower Show is New Zealand’s premier week-long Garden Party in Christchurch’s North Hagley Park from 10 to 14 March 2010. The Show celebrates Christchurch’s Garden City heritage and the best of national and international garden design. Check out the website for further information www.ellerslieflowershow.co.nz

(Reprinted courtesy Christchurch City Council Communications Unit)