Guoju Garden Palace: A Natural Haven in Congregated Housing

Bethel Design's Award-Winning Landscape for Residential Living

The inspiration for Guoju Garden Palace came from stone trails, scenery with rocks, and water, all combining to create an open, natural, and stress-free outdoor landscape. Towering and delicate deciduous cypress trees echo the delicacy and elegance of the residence. The use of meticulous planting and stone materials is a rare sight in the landscapes of congregated housing, requiring extensive care and maintenance to reproduce a natural forest-like landscape.

What sets this design apart is its plan for the public landscape of a congregated housing residence. The design harmoniously blends outdoor and indoor public facilities, using the most natural materials to make the residence seem as if it is "situated next to a creek and forest".

The realization of this design involved creating a natural marsh-like environment on the side of the building. A large horizontal patch of plants is planted along with various naturally-aligned stones. The slow-flowing water, pebbles, algae, rocks, and various water plants, along with the stone path, make the garden seem like a trail through a forest. The exterior has extraordinary deciduous cypress trees that make the landscape resemble a forest, becoming even more beautiful with the lights on at night.

The design covers a space of 1560 square meters and includes an European-style coffee area composed of large cherry and elm trees along with a large number of small shrubs such as small-leafed rhododendrons. There are herbaceous and colorful plants such as irises and crabapples located beneath the shrubbery that also surround the environment.

The project was completed in April 2018 in Taichung City, Taiwan. The underlying research for this design focused on creating a green scenery that nearly envelops the coffee area with a minimum of rigid pavements used to illustrate the area’s natural state. The flow of the area is naturally curved and layers of green highlight the area’s tranquil trail, which is paved with slates of stone or stepping stones.

One of the challenges faced during the design process was providing a varied rich visual experience. The round and triangular shrubs and the distinct levels of planting allow people to experience a sea of green as they stroll through the garden. Despite these challenges, the design was successful and was awarded Silver in A' Interior Space, Retail and Exhibition Design Award in 2019. This prestigious award is given to top-of-the-line, creative, and professionally remarkable designs that illustrate outstanding expertise and innovation.