The Capability Brown Design Ideas Competition is a national competition hosted by Natural England and run by the Landscape Institute. Winners were announced at the 2015 LI Awards.
2016 is the three hundredth anniversary of the birth of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown, this competition kick starts a national festival to celebrate his legacy. Entrants were encouraged to let their imaginations soar in designs for Moccas Grade II* Registered Park and Garden near Hereford and were asked: if Capability Brown were alive today what kind of landscapes would he design?
Colvin & Moggridge responded by linking Brown’s naturalistic style to modern nature conservation and by incorporating the elements of productivity, practicality and natural beauty which are fundamental to Brown’s landscapes, into the design from the outset.
The layout came from softening lines and boundaries to create ‘natural’ beauty. The parkland habitat exemplified in the adjacent Moccas NNR and SSSI is extended into the Northern half of the site; whilst with new habitats are created to the Southern half, tying the landscape into its agricultural setting. The transition between deer park and new habitats employs the imaginative use of deer fencing and the rethinking of the ha-ha, serpentine forms made from mounds and ditches link the landscape into its historical and wider context whilst providing wonderful diverse ecological niches.
An enticing route is proposed which links visitors to nine 21st Century topics in sequence, for example: a south facing sunny food bank addresses the anticipated future need to balance intensified food production in the UK with habitats and food for wildlife; another point on the route hosts a roll-top viewing seat which draws attention to the medieval deer park boundary, a Capability Brown attributed view and associated landform, and the past, present and future of UK farming practice.
To read The Landscape Institute news article click here.