Situated in the famous Franschhoek
Valley, Leopard's Leap Wine Estate is
the focus of this issue's Landscape
Architectural curator series. The
estate is wel known for its wine,
reading nooks, curio shop and fine
dining, but the venue sits in a wel -
orchestrated
contemporary
landscape. The landscape greets the
visitor in the parking area with
immaculate hedges and indigenous
plant species.
The first impression is that of space
and contemporary design. The
landscape design features such as
water channels and pathways
careful y guide visitors into the
building and almost prohibit entry
into one of the large open lawn
areas. This creates expectation as
one enters the tasting and dining
venues.
The landscape then reveals itself in a
series of visual layers. The first is a
water barrier surrounding the
veranda which provides white noise
to calm the hustle and bustle from
the vast amount of visitors, fol owed
by the main lawn area. The lawn
area is then in turn fol owed by the
vegetable garden providing the
restaurant with fresh produce, and
seamlessly blending the constructed
landscape
into
the
natural
surroundings with the mountains as
the star visual attraction.
06

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