CHRISTOPHER BRADLEY-HOLE

Mr. Bradley-Hole is my favorite Landscape Designer. His work is of great inspiration to me. I never had a chance to meet him yet, but I took the time to research his work and his philosophy. I see the world the same way…

Reporters and writers often describe the artistic work of Bradley-Hole with recurring adjectives such as “minimal, harmonious spaces, geometric, and pure proportions”. The consistency and integrity of his design style has become a sort of mantra throughout the international press.

The thinking of Bradley-Hole is often labeled as being anthropocentric. (Wikipedia defines anthropocentrism as the belief that human beings are the central or most significant species on the planet, or the assessment of reality through an exclusively human perspective.)

During an interview he said: “I’ve always had the philosophy that there should be room for people in design. I think design must have a socialist philosophy; it must be concerned with people, like people interacting and enjoying themselves, whether it’s two people or two thousand. It must be about improving people’s lives, trying to do something which is going to make the world a bit better.” He acknowledges this way of thinking involves more time and effort, but insists he would prefer breaking new grounds than just repeating tired formulas that makes ” the world a depressing place because you’re just reducing everything to a sort of banal level.” I personally find this statement refreshing and totally agree with it.

He said: “The modernist movement in architecture, where form followed function to a certain extent, was about new ideas, about new uses of materials, about freeing space, light, abstraction, asymmetry, dynamism, and movement; all ideas in which I’m interested.” Obviously the man is an idealist with solid passion for modernism which he expresses through design principles.

He believes that the ideas refined in the works of renowned architects such as Le Corbusier, Pierre Chareau and Mies van der Rohe, are as relevant today as they were initially: “While that must have been a very exciting age, I think today is a very exciting time to be working in modernist way in the second generation.” What a great way to look at modern landscape design.

In addition, he is an advocate for collaborative work with kindred spirits in other disciplines. With his open-minded attitude, he produced a medieval “hortus conclusus” (enclosed garden) design for a CD by music group Orlando Consort. He mentioned: “I think some of the rewards are in the people you meet and the opportunities you come in contact with, which are extraordinary. It’s just so nice to be meeting people who are at the top of their tree.”

Here is the link to read my full report on Christopher Bradley-Hole: C_Bradley-Hole_by_JMoore