Sackler Crossing
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
May 2006
In 2004 the decision was taken to commission what is the latest in a
series of architectural interventions at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew – a bridge across the
lake.
Following
Capability Brown’s preference for the ‘sinuous Line of Grace’, the
bridge plots a serpentine path across the water. The deck is set the
minimum possible distance from the lake’s surface, allowing those
crossing to feel that they are literally taking a walk across the
water. This sense of proximity is enhanced by glimpsed views of the
lake between the deck treads and by the near invisibility of the
supporting structures which lends the bridge a quality of sculptural
abstraction. Clear visual connections link the
manmade landscape of the bridge with the repeating natural forms of its
setting - the gently rounded contours of the land, the smooth expanse
of water and the powerful verticals of the trees.
