The "Jardim das
Ondas" was born out of the dialogue between two disciplines:
landscape architecture and fine arts. Architect and artist aimed
their work at providing a recreational space for visitors to EXPO
98. Their intervention is part of the projected transformation of
the bank of the Tagus River in Lisbon undertaken for the Universal
Exhibition of 1998.

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Directly inspired in the movement of water, the project was conceived
as a grass garden where the terrain was strictly modeled as levels
of curves that emulate the rhythm of the making and breaking of
waves. The land is used as construction material, with grass as
covering or finishing material. Both its relative proximity to the
river and its positioning with regard to solar movements, enable
this use and provide a place of contemplation. Water, light, and
greenness turn thus into sensory matter that comes together in an
open space.
The surface appears waved, excavated, or buried,
according to a general strategy defined on the basis of two methods:
the transformation of the terrain by means of systematic and rigorous
bidimensional cuts, on the one hand, and mechanical modeling of
the sandy ground, on the other. Once "in situ" and under
the direction of the authors, practice demonstrated that the desired
effects could be obtained by manual means. Aerial photographs
or images taken from higher levels were used to assist the construction.
The covering was performed with rolls of grass,
whose composition is predominantly Festuca ovina v. duryuscula,
chosen because of its emerald colored tone and its resistance
to treading. The surface was cut to an average height of 5 cm,
while the sloped planes were left uncut, producing an intentionally
differentiated texture. The whole surface is watered through a
fixed, invisible, and automatic system, so that the materials
resist the effect of the months in which Lisbon's Mediterranean
climate tends to diminish their vitality.
Over a surface of approximately a hectare,
the forms are like vibrations, elevations, and also great formations
of green ground, which initially seem almost abstract. In contrast,
as we move away, the general structure appears, and the distance
allows us to understand that which, up close, seemed unintelligible.