Paradiso: Lord Love a Duck

Who cannot suppress a chuckle at the sight of a fat duck? Who cannot appreciate the humor of animal caricatures? The tropical gardenscape at the Paradiso Luxury Residences in Shenzhen, located in the Pearl River Delta in southern China, forms a playful contrast to the four 30-story towers that look across the ocean to Hong Kong, only 12 miles (25 km) away. Built initially to cater to the wealthy local population, the resort/condominium development quickly became a magnet for Hong Kong and Guangzhou weekenders and its intensely detailed landscaping a much talked of feature. The gardens, commissioned especially to produce a resort-like ambience, an unusual concept in China at the time, are dotted with a fantastical menagerie of sculptures—ducks, chickens, peacocks, swans, frogs, fish and many other creatures—in and among pools, pathways and playgrounds. Nature, both real and imaginary, abounds in all its beauty. Although the foundations for the buildings had been laid before we came on to the project, we were drawn into doing more than garden design. To add both function and aesthetics to the empty areas on top of the podium and along the walkways, we created “streetscapes” using the buildings’ façades. Wall shutters and suspended lanterns were installed. Fountains and walls “interrupted” walkways. Various pond features produced interesting light reflections. To cater to Chinese taste, we also created tearooms, airy seating areas and an ironcanopied birdcage room (where humans sit in the birdcage, not the birds!) looking out over the gardens. All of this gave us the opportunity not only to extend the gardens—no area is left unadorned!—but also to create a protected yet inherently gardenesque environment among a group of clean-lined high-rise buildings.

While studying Nepalese architectural traditions, I learned the local technique of repoussé— hammering a thin piece of metal, usually brass, over a carved wooden surface to create a pattern, thus allowing the craftsman to add a great deal of detail without breaking the metal. Here, we used copper over wood carved with a relatively simple pattern of a fighting cock.

Farming is the backbone of the Chinese economy, with rice the staple crop in the south. Bensley Design Studio artists painted around 16 sepia paintings on wood, some over 13 feet (4 meters) high. The paintings are embellished with thousands of small squares of gilt to depict the sun setting on the rice fields.

Bronze duck fountains in a row are a recurrent theme in the resort’s two swimming pools.

Taken from the top of the adjacent residential tower, this photo illustrates the beauty of the plan and the variety of materials used in the intensely detailed garden.

Putu Mahendra, who heads our Bali studio, designed a number of sandstone and bronze maidens as well as the sepia and gold paintings on wood. The paintings were done by artists in our Bangkok studio and shipped to Shenzhen.

To complement the tropical content of the painting behind, we designed this bronze banana tree, which sits on a solid carved sandstone base.

Encircling the children’s pool, carved gray granite fish on stacked stone bases invigorate the waters.

The duck theme recurs at the children’s pool, this time in the form of duck handrails, which also spew water from their mouths.

This simple tiered fountain is the focal point of the elegant entrance plaza of the swimming pool court.