AGA KHAN GARDEN NELSON BYRD WOLTZ LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS EDMONTON, ALBERTA^71
lying nature. “Geometry is scaleless, both
infinitely small and infinitely large,” says
Gastinger, “so tapping into it offers a pathway
to greater understanding of the natural
world.” The design team wanted the garden’s
Islamic sources to be legible, he says, “but we
definitely wanted to avoid falling into the trap
of pastiche.” Photography highlighting the
project’s geometric motifs may give the im
pression that it teeters on the edge of that trap,
but in person the experience of scale within
the garden’s expanse creates a much more
subtle effect.
The exception, arguably, is a series of
decorative panels that form the court’s
guardrails. A riff on jali window screens,
which traditionally are carved from stone,
the panels are executed in ultrahighperfor
mance concrete. Seen in a desert or urban
LEVEL BEST Visitors navigate the descent from the
talar to the chahar bagh (opposite, top). The formality of
sunken flower beds contrasts with the natural forest
beyond (above). A trickling fountain animates a
woodland walk (right).