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“Becoming a Garden Again” is a temporary installation designed for the Jardins de Métis International Garden Festival in Grand-Métis, Quebec, Canada. It is composed of hundreds of logs and aluminum panels taken from the surrounding forest, enclosing a wildflower garden. It is a structure for people and flowers to inhabit both physically and figuratively. Visitors are literally and figuratively placed between the logs and the life they nourish.
Designed for the International Garden Festival at the Jardins de Métis in Grand-Métis, Québec, “Again, a Garden” is a temporary pavilion composed of hundreds of logs sourced from the surrounding forest and aluminum plates that enclose a wildflower garden. It is both a physical and figurative structure for human and floral occupation. The visitor is placed, literally and figuratively, between the logs and the life they support.
▼Distant view of the pavilion from the forest © Hugh Taylor
▼View of the pavilion through the trees © Hugh Taylor
The layered design of the aluminum panels is designed to minimize material waste. The overall size of the installation is coordinated with the width of the aluminum panels, which in pairs are exactly the same as the width of a standard sheet. The device can also be completely disassembled and recycled. Aluminum and wood are Quebec’s two pillar industries, both of which are sourced locally. All logs were sourced from the forest adjacent to the garden, cut to specific lengths and screwed to aluminum panels at the top and bottom. At the end of the device’s life cycle, all components can be disassembled and recycled. The aluminum is almost entirely recyclable, with plans to sell it back to the aluminum supplier or recycler, and/or reuse it in future projects in the garden. Fasteners can be reused, while logs can be returned to the forest, turned into wood chips, or used as firewood.
The layers of aluminum plates are designed to minimize material waste. The overall dimensions of the pavilion and the width of the aluminum plates are coordinated to create pairs that equal the width of a standard sheet. The pavilion is also designed to be entirely demountable and recyclable. Aluminum and timber, two of Québec’s primary industries, are locally sourced. of the pavilion’s life, all elements may be disassembled and recycled. The aluminum, which is almost entirely recyclable, is intended to be sold back to aluminum suppliers or recyclers and/or reused for future projects at the gardens. The fasteners may be reused, while the logs may be returned to the forest, made into wood chips, or used as firewood.
▼Overall view of the pavilion © Hugh Taylor
▼The entrance formed by the cantilevered corner © Hugh Taylor
▼Exterior close view © Hugh Taylor
From the base of the structure upward, each layer becomes progressively shorter and thinner, using shorter, thinner logs. Along the outside of the structure, the edges of the aluminum plates are aligned; while on the inside of the structure, the edges of the aluminum plates recede layer by layer along a radial curve, opening the interior of the device to the sky. Like a traditional load-bearing masonry building, this reduces the load on the upper part and allows the corners to cantilever, creating access pathways. The logs are screwed to the top and bottom of the aluminum plate at the upper corner, and with the help of two upright aluminum angle steels on the penultimate layer, a composite structural system is formed.
From the base of the structure, each level becomes gradually shorter and thinner, using shorter and narrower logs. Along the outside of the structure, the edges of the aluminum plates are aligned, while inside the structure, the edges of the plates pull back along a radial curve, opening the interior of the pavilion to the sky. Like a traditional load-bearing brick building, this reduces the loads on the upper levels, which cantilever at all four corners to create entry passages. These upper corners use the logs, each screwed into the top and bottom of the aluminum plates, as well as two upstanding aluminum angles on the penultimate layer, to create a composite structural system.
▼The entry passage © Hugh Taylor
▼View toward the entrance from inside © Hugh Taylor
A timber and aluminum structure encloses a private wildflower garden, with native pollinators planted along the inner edge. Here, logs are cut into an “end-grain” wood floor that gradually decays and softens over time. At the edge of the wildflower garden, some logs are left longer and become seats – places for people to rest, quiet and meditate.
An intimate wildflower garden is enclosed by the wood and aluminum structure. Native pollinator species are planted along the inside perimeter. Here, logs are cut and used as a sort of “end-grain” wood floor, which is intended to decay and soften with time. Along the edge of the wildflower garden, some logs are cut longer to serve as seating—spaces for rest, repose, and reflection.
▼The inner corridor and the central wildflower garden, The inner corridor and the central wildflower garden © Hugh Taylor
▼Log wall texture © Hugh Taylor
It is once again a garden where the textures and feelings of past, present and future life intertwine. It aims to redraw and recalibrate our perception of the flow and power of life in and around the garden – a complete system with no fixed end or beginning.
It is a garden again, where the textures and sensations of past, present, and future life are woven together. It aims to remap and realign our sensitivities to the flows and forces of life in the garden and its surroundings—a complete system without fixed endings or beginnings.
▼Plan © Hugh Taylor
▼Cross section, Section © Hugh Taylor
▼Detailed section © Hugh Taylor
Project/Project: Again, a Garden
Design/Design: Hugh Taylor
Location: Grand-Métis, Québec, Canada
Year/Year: 2026
Commission/Client: International Garden Festival, Jardins de Métis
Photography/Photography: Hugh Taylor
Website/ Website: hughtaylor.ca
Email: hugh.c.taylor@outlook.com
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