Moscow Project

Garden Design in Moscow Russia, luxury roof terrace

Posted: 23/10/2013 in Garden Design

The Garden Builders were commissioned to produce a magnificent trio of unique sculptural panels for the wall area of a luxury roof terrace located in central Moscow. A striking male head and shoulders motif takes centre stage with two inward looking profiles featured either side. In contrast, a scattering of tiny chamomile flowers adds a charming, delicate detail on the lower edges of all the panels - chamomile being the national flower of Russia. State of the art coloured led lighting positioned above adds to the drama of the sculpture.

Dawn Latham of The Garden Builders worked alongside artist Shaun Brosnan whilst liaising with the client's interior designer and architect. The designated wall area on the client's Moscow roof terrace was vast and there was a real need to achieve a vital balance between visual impact and workable sculpture, as the artist had to be able to manipulate and work with the lead in his studio. Various sketch ideas were produced, revised and then presented to the client for consideration.

Each individual panel is formed by hand from a sheet of reclaimed lead. The artist prefers working with aged, reclaimed lead due to its worn patina and tactile beauty. The 'labour intensive' sculpting process requires the artist to carefully beat the lead into shape with hammers whilst the panels hang, suspended from the studio ceiling. The aim to form the subject without splitting the incredibly soft lead surface! Shaun produces totally unique artworks, no moulds are ever made. The main central panel measures 1.8m x 1.8m and the two side panels both measure 1.8m x 1.2m. The panels had to be clamped to a strong flat surface in order to alleviate unwanted bending of the lead during fabrication and especially during transportation from the studio.

A bespoke stainless steel framework was commissioned for the rear of each panel and this was held in place by carefully applied layers of fibreglass. The steel structure ensured stability for the soft lead material and also formed the wall support for ease of installation. The panels were individually crated ready for the long journey to Russia.

The crates had to be hoisted by crane onto the client's Moscow roof terrace. We think you'll agree that the final effect is stunning! Nb. A frame maker was commissioned to make a dedicated frame and mount to house the original, beautiful pencil sketch created during the commissioning process and this was presented to the client as a gift from the whole Garden Builders team.


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