Importance of Genius Loci: Celebrating the Unique Spirit of a Place with Design
Genius Loci is one of the most important factors to consider in garden and landscape design. It is also one of the hardest to capture in words, sketches or mood boards.
The Romans believed that each place, from a small olive grove to entire countries, had a presiding guardian spirit who gave it its own distinctive character and energy. While the concept of a guardian spirit is no longer relevant to many of us today, the term Genius Loci is still used to describe the intrinsic quality or atmosphere of a place. It is not one tangible thing but rather a unique combination of elements greater than the sum of its parts. Its very intangibility is down to the fact that these elements are multi-sensorial and capricious. They can change from one minute to the next and their perception shifts from one person to another. To ground this in something less fluffy, it could be the scent of nearby foliage or flowers; the quality of light and shade, which transforms over the course of the minutes, days, weeks and seasons; the sound of birdsong, of traffic or even the lack of sound altogether which can convey a sense of eerie stillness. This is far from an exhaustive list, but gives you an idea of the unique and changeable elements that contribute to the Genius Loci of a place.
As a garden designer, my goal is to celebrate the unique feeling of each space I design for. Of course, I have a responsibility to deliver on the client’s brief, but also to enhance the site and its surroundings. This is why it is so important to kick off a project with a site visit. It not only gives you an opportunity to get to know your client and their personality better, but also allows you to see how the site feels. That then informs the design, from the layout, to construction, to planting and lighting.
The beauty of good design is that it can not only enhance an existing feeling of a site, but in cases where it has either been completely erased or didn’t really exist in the first place (a large new development built on brownfield or open agricultural land, for example), a well-designed landscape can make all the difference. It can help ground the architecture in the landscape, giving a sense that it has been there for longer than it has, or that it has evolved organically rather than arriving one day out of nowhere. Much like employing an architect to design a house, when hiring a garden designer you get the added benefit of someone who can interpret and improve the site rather than simply installing features you want.
If you’re considering redesigning your garden, planning an extension or even embarking on a residential development I’ve included some helpful tips to help you get the most out of your newly designed garden and the relationship with your designer:
The starting point for most garden designers is an in-person meeting at your home or on-site after your initial phone call or email enquiry. Don’t be put off if they charge you a consultation fee, this is an industry-standard and also communicates that their time and expertise have value. If they don’t value their time, then you probably shouldn’t either. I charge a fixed consultation fee based on an hourly rate and travel time which is then deducted from the first stage of a project if the client hires me, for more info see the Services section of the website.
It’s important to have a checklist of features that you want and need in your garden, but also come prepared knowing how you want to feel when you spend time in your garden. Consider whether you like how it currently makes you feel. Do you want to emphasise it or change it? This isn’t black and white, and can vary depending on the size of your garden and opportunity for different uses and zones. Consider the light, shade, scent, touch and sounds that you find attractive and try to capture this in your brief.
Pinterest boards or Instagram collections are a really useful way to communicate a feeling of a space. As they say, a picture paints a thousand words and while it may not be possible or appropriate to recreate an exact garden layout or design, it will be possible to capture the feeling it evokes.
If your designer doesn’t ask you how you want to feel in your garden then speak up. Ask their opinions about genius loci and how the garden feels to them to get a sense of whether this is an important part of their design process or not. If not, it may be worth speaking to someone else.
Lucie Dutton Design is a UK-based garden design studio located in Saffron Walden and operating in Essex, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Greater London. If you’re interested in working together then please do contact me.