Visit Botanical Garden La Gomera

HATCHING FESTIVAL ENDS WITH AN ENCOUNTER IN THE BOTANICAL GARDEN `EL DESCUBRIMIENTO´, AT TWENTY YEARS OF ITS CREATION

On Friday, July 26, 2019, at 11:30h,  in the Botanical Garden `El Descubrimiento´ in Vallehermoso of La Gomera, at 20 years of its creation, Hatching Festival invites us to explore the Garden by the hand of architect Fernando Menis.

The free access event closes the Hatching Festival program which, from an expanded view of architecture, has sought its interaction with other disciplines so that, over several weeks, the festival has been formed as a meeting of architects, artists and theorists to exchange knowledge and inspire each other when reflecting on the solutions to some of the problems that climate change is causing, such as water scarcity, erosion or high temperatures. Hatching Festival revolves around the possibility of creating life in desert or semi-desert areas, through the symbiosis between tradition and new technologies, natural energy and form manipulation. In addition to the meeting in the Garden, the programming of this edition has included conferences, round tables, dance performances, workshops and exhibitions. Hatching Festival was supported by Canarias Cultura en Red – Gobierno de Canarias, Ministerio de Educación y Deporte de España, Cabildo de la Gomera, Fundación CajaCanarias and by Fundación La Caixa.  Botanical Garden `El Descubrimiento´ of Vallehermoso, on La Gomera island This is a 16,219 square meter park the contents of which honor the intense historical relationship that the island had with the exploration of America. It houses plant species from the five continents, with an emphasis on those found by the explorers of the New World as well as endemic plants of La Gomera. Fernando Menis, who was in charge of designing it, had the collaboration of botanist David Bramwell, turning the experience of visiting the Garden into a natural, cultural, historical and sensory tour, contributing to the didactic and investigative mission of this place.

The paths were laid out to respect the centuries-old palm trees of the site and to create gentle and accessible slopes. The rectilinear lines of the design, which overlap and generate different landscape itineraries, have gradually merged with nature and the initial geometrical layout has become sinuous with the growth of vegetation, producing moments of surprise within an idyllic landscape. The Visitor Center and cafe, a two-storey building made of black concrete, serves both as a lookout and as the physical boundary of the park with the road, resembling forceful terraces that become balconies that open towards the park and landscape.

Pictures:

Botanical Garden `El Descubrimiento´ in Vallehermoso of La Gomera

Photos©Hisao Suzuki