Narrative, Craft and Form: Inside the These White Walls Pavilion at Chelsea Flower Show

At the Chelsea Flower Show, gardens become galleries — spaces where landscape, architecture and art intersect. For These White Walls, who were invited to design a pavilion in collaboration with Eden Sculpture, this presented an opportunity to explore how narrative-led design can shape not only interiors, but immersive architectural environments.

At the core of the studio’s approach is a simple but guiding principle: how can we live more beautifully? This question informs every project, from ultra-prime residential interiors to large-scale hospitality environments, and underpinned the design of the pavilion created in collaboration with Eden Sculpture.

The project was conceived as an exploration of the relationship between sculpture, architecture and movement. Rather than treating artworks as objects placed within a space, the design sought to build an environment around them — allowing the architecture to frame, reveal and elevate each piece.

The pavilion evolved into an abstract, undulating ribbon of architecture that wraps around a series of sculptures. Visitors are drawn through the space along a gravel pathway, moving between natural stone, grasses and a central water feature. Carefully positioned apertures and partial sight-lines create moments of anticipation, offering glimpses into the interior before revealing more intimate encounters within.

This choreography of movement was central to the design process. Consideration was given not only to how the space would look, but how it would be experienced — how visitors would pause, reflect and engage with the sculptures at different moments throughout their journey.

Materiality played a key role in supporting this experience. The pavilion’s weather-worn, limewashed surfaces create a calm and restrained architectural language, allowing the sculptures to take visual precedence. Around them, grasses and gravel introduce tactility, sound and variation, creating a layered sensory environment.

This balance between rawness and refinement is a recurring theme in These White Walls’ work. It reflects a broader commitment to craftsmanship and material integrity — values shared with Eden Sculpture. Both studios place importance on working with materials that carry depth and permanence, shaped through skilled making rather than mass production.

Designing around sculpture requires particular sensitivity, especially when working with materials such as marble and bronze. These materials bring weight, permanence and presence, demanding that the surrounding architecture remains disciplined and considered. Rather than competing with the artworks, the design must support them — allowing their form, texture and interaction with light to take centre stage.

Set against the movement and softness of the surrounding garden, these sculptural materials take on greater clarity. The contrast between the organic and the refined, the ephemeral and the enduring, creates a dynamic tension that defines the space.

While the pavilion itself is temporary, designed to be dismantled and reassembled, its intention is not permanence in a physical sense. Instead, the project focuses on creating a meaningful spatial experience — one that lingers in memory and reflects the studio’s belief that thoughtful design can shape how people feel, move and connect within a space.

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