Architects: Kawahara Krause Architects
Area: 10 m²
Year: 2017
Photographs: Courtesy of Kawahara Krause Architects
Manufacturers: Evonik Industries
Other Participants: Lasercut Hamburg
Architect In Charge: Tatsuya Kawahara, Ellen Kristina Krause
City: Leonberg
Country: Germany
Garden Folly, designed by Kawahara Krause Architects in Southern Germany, was created to fill a gap left by a felled tree in a private garden. The structure, shaped like a traditional garden shed, integrates into its green surroundings, offering an outdoor seating area that feels enclosed yet open. The design features a grid of transparent acrylic tubes connected by custom white acrylic joints, forming a light, floating volume. Sunlight enhances the grid’s appearance, making it alternately clear and ambiguous depending on the viewpoint. Garden Folly balances contrasts such as mass and lightness, structure and fluidity, blending conventional and conceptual elements.
The felling of a large tree in a private garden in Southern Germany created a significant gap along the site boundary, which was densely overgrown with tall bushes and trees. To fill this gap, Kawahara Krause Architects designed a structure that occupies the space without closing it off. Shaped like a classical garden shed, the Garden Folly blends seamlessly into its green surroundings, offering a place to sit outside while still feeling enclosed.
The structure comprises a grid of acrylic tubes connected by specially developed joints. Each joint is formed by interlocking two cross-shaped acrylic parts, creating simple three-dimensional connections. The transparent tubes contrast with the white acrylic joints, which appear as star-like accents depending on the lighting. This design creates the illusion of a floating cloud of points in space.
In strong sunlight, the acrylic tubes glimmer, highlighting the grid’s structure. The overall impression of this geometric form changes with the viewer’s perspective, shifting between a clearly defined structure and a seemingly random arrangement. Garden Folly embodies a blend of contrasting characteristics: the enclosed space of a traditional house and an open, flowing space, mass and lightness, interior and exterior, structure and spontaneity, clarity and ambiguity, merging conventional and conceptual elements.
Project Gallery
Project Location
Address: Leonberg, Baden-Württemberg, 71229, Germany
Location is for general reference and may represent a city or country, not necessarily a precise address.
