Landscape architect Vladimir Djurovic told the story as he toured me around the park on Monday morning. Mr. Djurovic is based in Beirut, where he leads a firm of 25 that does landscape work around the world. The son of a father from Montenegro and mother from Lebanon, he learned his trade in Britain and the United States before going back home to build his practice in Lebanon, then bouncing back from years of civil war.
(Kevin Van Paassen for The Globe and Mail)
The Aga Khan came across his work by chance. Usually, he chooses established, name architects for his projects. For the Toronto park, he had asked 15 major companies to join an invitation-only competition. But one of his advisers was flipping through a magazine in an Italian book shop when he came across a spread on Mr. Djurovic’s work. Impressed by its simplicity, he persuaded the Aga Khan to bring him into the race.
Mr. Djurovic and his team worked feverishly for four months on their concept. A team of the Aga Khan’s people grilled his clients and fellow architects to make sure he was up to the job. “I’ve never seen a process like that. No one does that, no one,” he says. “They don’t play around.”
via The Globe and Mail | Trip to famed Islamic gardens inspired Aga Khan Park in Toronto
By MARCUS GEE for The Globe and Mail. Published Monday, May. 25 2015, 7:49 PM EDT Last updated Monday, May. 25 2015
The Globe and Mail – Front Page of the Tuesday, May 26, 2015 Edition
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