The Calyx Perth Scotland, Cherrybank Garden, Scottish Competition Architect Design

The Calyx Centre Competition

Scottish Garden Centre at Cherrybank Gardens, Perth

15 May 2006

Perth Architecture Competition

Architect: Nicoll Russell Studio

Approx. Cost: £30m

Landscape architect: Gillespies

RIAS 2004 competition finalists incl. Benson & Forsyth, Snøhetta & Ushida Findlay

The Calyx Centre Perth

Calyx Competition

Background
The Competition is being facilitated by the Calyx at Cherrybank Gardens, the Dundee Institute of Architects (who represent Architects in Tayside and Fife) and the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland. The Calyx project is a major 61-acre garden, which will be the equal of Chelsea or Eden and will increase the size of the existing Cherrybank garden by more than ten folds.

A first step in the realisation of that project is their 2007 Festival of Gardening which will see the creation of several exhibition gardens. This competition will deliver a competition garden, which will form a key component of the Festival of Gardening.

A statement describing the overall Calyx project and a draft poster/brief are attached.

Intent
The intention of the competition is to create an interface between professional designers and the public, to encourage design awareness, to highlight the public role of the DIA and RIAS and to raise the profile of the Calyx project, which will ultimately be a tremendous community resource at the very heart of Scotland. The competition reflects the ethos of the Calyx project:
Community involvement.
The promotion of a healthy lifestyle.
The promotion of a sustainable lifestyle.
Education.
Environmental improvement.

It is a public competition and has been deliberately set to relate to the type of garden typically found in new build starter homes; its brief has been shaped to encourage:
Integration of the house and garden.
Improve the general public’s understanding of design issues.
Wide public participation.
The participation of first time gardeners.
The improvement of the suburban environment.
The adoption of a healthy and self improving hobby.

Ultimately the competition seeks to encourage participants to consider their entry from the perspective of their own garden and house, its value and scope for improvement. From that perspective it is seen as an educational vehicle in a general sense and more specifically a parallel competition will be run at Duncan of Jordanstone School of Art and University of Dundee which will be open to Interior Design and Landscape students in conjunction with their course work.

Publicity
The Competition has been designed to offer an excellent publicity vehicle for its sponsors, facilitators and participants. This will be achieved by:
Launching the competition at the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland’s annual Convention held on May 5th 2006 in Perth. This is a major international event attended by some 500 architects with international press coverage.
The broad dissemination of posters during the summer months to garden centres, and institutions such as The National Trust for Scotland, art galleries etc.
A partnership arrangement has been developed with the Glasgow Herald (one of Scotland’s major national papers). They intend to provide:

Their gardening correspondent as a judge.
A series of articles within their weekend colour supplements.
An article at the launch on the 6th May 2006.
An article reviewing the outcome of judging in November 2006.

A series of articles in between using the problem set by the competition as a device to explore certain design problems….e.g. shade, privacy, plant selection, etc etc. Which further underlines the projects educational aspects at a general level.
And then a follow up article when the garden is built.

The RIAS’s Prospect magazine, which is issued to all members free of charge, has also offered to cover the competition in some depth.
Selected entries will be exhibited in the RIAS Gallery in central Edinburgh at the beginning of 2007.

The winning garden will be realised within the Cherrybank Garden in spring 2007 and will be a permanent form of publicity which will be suitably branded to record the participation of the various sponsors and facilitators.
The BBC’s Jim McColl will be one of the judges, which in itself will generate PR opportunities and raise the profile of the competition.
The facilitators are willing to adopt a partnership approach to all those involved to maximise the level of publicity for all participants and ultimately to maximise public participation.

Sponsorship
Sponsorship is being sought from mutually compatible sponsors who reflect the ethos of the competition. This may take the form of solely cash sponsorship or cash sponsorship in partnership with product placement. Sponsors who have already indicated some level of support include:
Scottish Enterprise.
Marshalls (hard landscaping).
Burlington Slate (feature stonework, obelisks etc.).
The Dunfermline Building Society.
The Dundee Institute of Architects.

Further compatible (and non competitive) sponsors are also being approached.

Prizes
Attractive prizes will be an important component in delivering high levels of public participation. The main prize is that the winning entry will be realised in Cherrybank garden, but this will be supported by:

The DIA will award the winning entrant a holiday for 2 to London to visit the Chelsea Flower Show in 2007 including tickets to the flower show and a west end production.
Marshalls are providing £1500 of their domestic products which the judges will award as they see fit.
The DIA will also make an award to the winning student entry again with further prizes at the judge’s discretion.

Outcomes

It is considered that the competition will result in a wide series of benefits, namely:

Wide public participation.
Community involvement.
Direct publicity for all partners within the competition.
Increased awareness of design issues.
Increased awareness of product choice.
Awareness of the environment and a desire to improve it.
Increased numbers of participants improving their own houses/gardens.
Increased potential for sales.
A lasting legacy for all sponsors, facilitators and participants.

Calyx Centre – Description

The Calyx: Project Summary
The Calyx project is to develop a horticultural centre of excellence for Scotland. It will be a unique garden showcase and a world class visitor attraction for Scotland.

The Calyx promotes visitor inspiration, excitement, entertainment and education by creating an environment which celebrates the pleasures of gardening and the contribution horticulture has made and continues to enhance the quality of our lives and looks at our environment.

The Calyx, Perth PR received May 2006 via RIAS

Address: The Calyx, Perth, Scotland, PH2 OPF
Contact: [email protected] +44 (0)1738 472800