Sculpture for Gardens and Private Residences

Private commissions are the least constrained and the most personal work we do. There is no committee, no procurement framework and usually no architect — just a client, a garden designer and a strong idea. That changes the process: we spend more time on maquettes and less on paperwork, and the design conversation runs directly with the person who will look at the piece every day. The practical constraints are access and scale judgement. Access to a private garden is often through a house, a side passage or over a neighbour’s land, which quietly dictates sectioning and sometimes rules out a material entirely. Scale judgement is the common failure: pieces chosen from a photograph are almost always too small once they are in an open garden, and we ask for a cardboard or timber mock-up at full height before anything is confirmed. Fountains are the most requested category and the one that needs the most technical care, because the wet package has to be specified, tested and commissioned properly if it is not to become a maintenance burden.