©Marco Bay
Marco Bay
Italy
Two masters introduced him to landscape architecture: Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe and Nena Balsari. He founded his own studio in 1997, engaging in projects related to the garden and the landscape. He developed a personal method based on the idea that each project starts from architecture, from respect for the history and ecosystem of a place, reaching equilibrium in an ideal unicum, without neglecting its future maintenance. His work is also evident through rigorous and contemporary designs giving shapes and spatiality that help to highlight the landscape making it visible.
Original is his constant search for plants in pursuit of beauty in favor of biodiversity. “During the night I dream about color palettes that will change according to the seasons and will interpenetrate each other over time. The magic moment is when you let plants grow and they became one part of the other at the end”. He defines himself as a “craftman” of landscape. His hallmark is the humble and sincere approach to the site. He believes that the first gesture for draw a landscape is that of the hand, and after the digital one. Without the gesture of the hand it’s impossible to gain the sensitivity necessary to face a landscape design: landscape, as such it is, is the product of hand and history of human being.
Among his projects in Milan: the contemporary garden for Hangar Bicocca, the Oritcola’s garden in Palazzo Reale and flowerbeds with palm trees and banana trees in Piazza Duomo. The mark of these projects is now a signature for the city of Milan. His projects speak a common and recognizable language that links iconic and cultural places. He is the author of works both in Italy and in Europe for public and private areas; he deals with restoration of historical gardens and environmental rehabilitation of commercial and industrial spaces. He holds lectures at important Italian universities and collaborates with the most famous magazines of architecture, design and art. In May 2018 he wrote a book entitled “Disegnare con gli alberi. Storie di Giardini”, published by Mondadori.
The book was conceived as a memento of his project method and his origins that come to life again in his works. “Drawing with trees brings me to have a respectful approach to nature. That makes even harder the willingness of leaving signs on earth, as they were always there”.
There are some people that inspired me: architects Sir Geofferey Jellicoe and Nena Balsari and gardeners such as Enrico e Giorgio Cappellini.
Parc Citroen in Paris, for its spatial rigor at all levels, from the “garden room” to the large lawn; also Great Dixter in the English countryside, for the special care and continuous botanical research.
SELECTED PROJECTS
La Serenissima
A charming modernist building from the 1970s by the Soncini brothers is skillfully renoveted by the Park Associati Studio, enhancing the design of its facades with black iron structures and dark smoked glass. Inside there is a large roof garden, with a garage underneath. The design of the garden is inspired by the vertical elements of architecture and is configured with long rows with alternating plants such as Myrtus tarentina, Hydrangee paniculate, grasses (Molinia transparent) and perennials (Anemone japonica “Honorine Jobert”. Helleboros niger …). The dominant green element, however, is the Cornus variegata ‘Controversa’ for its very particular horizontal branches and white and green vegetation. Ebony black gravel, it is the ideal carpet to enhance the new green system and to create harmony with the colors of the architecture.
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