PW Orchid Pavilion | Oaxaca, Mexico

Bosco Sodi and Casa Wabi led an open competition to design their future pavilion that would house over 1,000 orchids.

Hanami Huerta - Bloom Pointillism* : Orchids are among the most diverse flower species on earth, with 25,000 different types -over 1,200 of them found in Mexico, of which around 250 are exclusive to the country- with flowers spanning the entire color spectrum. Hanami Huerta proposes an orchid pavilion as a large-scale pointillism painting using plant blooms as the medium, where different species endemic to Central America are strategically placed to flower together and reveal an ephemeral image that changes at different times of year. Planted pots baked in the nearby kiln create the pixel matrix foundation for a featured bloom painting, starting with Warhol’s iconic flower print and rotating annually in an exhibition that is literally seasonal.

The design invests the limited budget in creating a coordinated planting plan that will encourage year-round visits to Casa Wabi. The optional architectural intervention that extends beyond the limits of the site is a rammed-earth ramp with a railing of reclaimed wood posts and wire mesh from the current on-site chicken coop enclosure, that becomes a viewing platform and educational stage for experiencing the organic illustration.

Hanami Huerta combines the beauty of mexican horticulture with the tradition of japanese rice planting super graphics and patterned flower fields as an ever-shifting garden for the surrounding community.

*collaboration with Yuval Zohar