Project 2: ROBERTO BURLE MARX

PROJECT 2: ROBERTO BURLE MARX

ROBERTO BURLE MARX:
1909-1994

He was a Brazilian Landscape Architect, as well as painter, ecologist, naturalist, artist & musician.
His designs of Parks and Gardens made him famous.
He is accredited with having introduced modernist Landscape Architecture to Brazil.
Burke Marx's work has had a great influence on tropical garden in the 20th Century.
Water gardens were a popular theme of his work.
He had a skill of transferring traditional artistic expressions such as graphic design, tapestry & folk art into his Landscape Design.
He was one of the first people to call for the conservation of Brazils Rainforests.
Over 50 plants bear his name.

Many of Roberto Burle Marx's influences and inspirations came from Brazilian folk art and his background of fine art.

Above is based on one of Burle Marx's famous gardens Fazenda Vargem Grande, once a productive coffee bean farm now transformed into a stunning multi-level garden.

FAZENDA VARGEM GRANDE

The farm was a productive coffee fair at the time of Imperial Brazil, circa 1837.
The region the area is in was known as the "Coffee Barons" district and was the financial backbone of the Empire.
In 1973 it was acquired and restored by its current owners.
Roberto Burle Marx was commisioned to create one of the most extraordinary & beautiful gardens of his career.
Burke Marx transformed the old drying coffee yard into a garden with 5 reflective pools, stone sculptures, 19 waterfalls and 2 swimming pools divided into 3 different levels.
The project is a late 70's work and took about 10 years between its creation and completion.
It has been designed to be a garden in constant motion, changing every season without losing its charm or splendour and is undoubtedly one of the most of complete & expressive works in Roberto Burle Marx's career.