Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire
In the middle of the gardens at Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire, England, you’ll stumble upon something quite extraordinary – a 12 metre-high wedding cake.
But don’t try to take a bite because this is no ordinary cake.
Part immersive sculpture, part garden folly the structure was designed by Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos and covered in highly-glazed, pastel-hued ceramic tiles.
The result? A garden pavilion that looks good enough to eat.
Dubbed the Wedding Cake pavilion, the structure also includes sculptural ornaments that emanate trickling water sounds and a site-specific lighting scheme.
“I wanted people to have three different approaches to it: looking from the outside, enjoying the surroundings from the different levels and balconies, and, finally, completing the artwork with their presence,” explains Vasconcelos.
“Above all, I always thought of it as a temple to love.”
Traditionally, such structures would have been constructed from noble materials such as marble but Vasconcelos wanted to challenge this tradition and show that everyday materials such as ceramic tiles can be used to create something equally striking.
For her design, Vasconcelos elevated the designs of the ceramic tiles, which were made by Portuguese tile manufacturer Viúva Lamego, to baroque ornamentation level.
Vasconcelos says the structure, which was commissioned by Lord Rothschild and took five years to complete, was her “most ambitious project to date” but certainly one that looks good enough to eat.
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