The Savills Garden
Chelsea 2023

About the project

Manufactured for The Savills Garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023, this project comprised a bespoke circular tree seat together with spiral tree supports, straight tree supports, table structures and perimeter posts. Designed by Mark Gregory, the tree seat formed the focal point of the garden and incorporated a series of integrated table sections between the seating areas.

The seating structure was fabricated from mild steel and developed using an unconventional slat arrangement, with the slats running radially from the outer edge of the seat towards the central tree rather than following the circumference of the structure. This approach created the appearance specified by the designer whilst introducing significant geometric complexity throughout the seat and backrest.

A key challenge of the project was maintaining consistent visual spacing between the slats across multiple radii. Each slat was individually developed and tapered to accommodate the changing geometry of the seat, backrest and inner edge. Careful coordination of each component ensured that the finished structure maintained a uniform appearance despite the differing radii throughout the design.

The integrated table sections incorporated a laser cut pea motif originally developed for Catherine MacDonald's Gold Medal winning Seedlip Garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2018. All elements were fabricated from mild steel and finished with a hot zinc sprayed coating prior to installation and patination.