Project: Labirinto Borges
Architecture: Randoll Coate
Geo: Venice, Italy
In the eighth Projects of the Week poll (https://t.me/gorkjournal/3921), you chose Labirinto Borges—a boxwood labyrinth on the Venetian island of San Giorgio Maggiore. It reopened in July after restoration, marking the 40th anniversary of Jorge Luis Borges' death.
Labyrinths always fascinated Borges. "The Garden of Forking Paths," "The Aleph," the infinite Library of Babel—for him, the labyrinth was a way to think about time, memory, and choice. Labirinto Borges translates this logic into landscape: here, you can not only get lost, but literally read the garden as a page.
The author of the project was not a landscape architect in the usual sense. Randoll Coate (1909−2005) was a British diplomat and "labyrinthologist"—a designer of puzzle-like gardens.
In 1979, Coate dreamed of Borges' death. The next day, he wrote to Susana Bombal, who had introduced them in the 1950s, and sketched the idea of a labyrinth inspired by "The Garden of Forking Paths." After Borges' death in 1986, the concept remained on paper for years: the first garden based on Coate’s design appeared only in 2003 in San Rafael, Argentina. The Venetian version became the second—it opened on June 14, 2011, for the 25th anniversary of Borges' death. Coate himself did not live to see it.
The location was chosen by María Kodama, Borges' widow and literary heir. For Borges, Venice was special—a city-labyrinth, a space of "subtle delicacy and complexity," as Kodama described it. The labyrinth is set in the courtyard of Fondazione Giorgio Cini, a cultural center on an island opposite Piazza San Marco, within a monastic complex featuring Palladio’s basilica.
The labyrinth consists of 3,200 boxwood shrubs planted within a Corten steel framework. The structure maintains the shape of the living walls and protects the plants from lagoon winds. The full route takes about 30 minutes to walk, with a total path length of 1,150 meters. Entrance and exit are the same point: the labyrinth is conceived as a space for meditation rather than transit.
From afar, it looks like a green carpet. From above, an open book emerges, with the name BORGES readable across its mirrored pages. Hidden within are other symbols from the writer’s world: a cane, mirrors, an hourglass, a tiger, a large question mark, and the initials of María Kodama. These directly reference Borges' life and texts: he lost his sight completely at 55, and the question mark reflects his love of riddles. Kodama insisted the garden be accessible to blind and visually impaired visitors.
Boxwood is not stone—it cannot simply be repaired. During restoration, 165 damaged shrubs were replaced, the irrigation system was repaired, the soil cleared of weeds and enriched with nutrients. New plants were sourced from nurseries in Northern Italy to suit the Venetian climate. Now they must take root and grow back into a unified pattern.
The key addition is a tactile map at the entrance, developed with the Italian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired: visitors can explore the labyrinth layout by touch before entering. The entrance path has also been improved for people with limited mobility.
The labyrinth is already open to visitors, but the project will continue to evolve. Plans include realizing Kodama’s idea of installing a handrail with a Borges text in Braille along the hedges. A glass sculpture in memory of Giorgio Cini is also planned.
In "The Garden of Forking Paths," the labyrinth is not space but time: every turn creates a new possibility and a new version of the future. The Venetian garden makes this metaphor visible—like in Borges' work, the labyrinth continues to branch.
@gorkjournal · GORK
3D · Photo · Render · Ai
Architecture: Randoll Coate
Geo: Venice, Italy
In the eighth Projects of the Week poll (https://t.me/gorkjournal/3921), you chose Labirinto Borges—a boxwood labyrinth on the Venetian island of San Giorgio Maggiore. It reopened in July after restoration, marking the 40th anniversary of Jorge Luis Borges' death.
Labyrinths always fascinated Borges. "The Garden of Forking Paths," "The Aleph," the infinite Library of Babel—for him, the labyrinth was a way to think about time, memory, and choice. Labirinto Borges translates this logic into landscape: here, you can not only get lost, but literally read the garden as a page.
The author of the project was not a landscape architect in the usual sense. Randoll Coate (1909−2005) was a British diplomat and "labyrinthologist"—a designer of puzzle-like gardens.
In 1979, Coate dreamed of Borges' death. The next day, he wrote to Susana Bombal, who had introduced them in the 1950s, and sketched the idea of a labyrinth inspired by "The Garden of Forking Paths." After Borges' death in 1986, the concept remained on paper for years: the first garden based on Coate’s design appeared only in 2003 in San Rafael, Argentina. The Venetian version became the second—it opened on June 14, 2011, for the 25th anniversary of Borges' death. Coate himself did not live to see it.
The location was chosen by María Kodama, Borges' widow and literary heir. For Borges, Venice was special—a city-labyrinth, a space of "subtle delicacy and complexity," as Kodama described it. The labyrinth is set in the courtyard of Fondazione Giorgio Cini, a cultural center on an island opposite Piazza San Marco, within a monastic complex featuring Palladio’s basilica.
The labyrinth consists of 3,200 boxwood shrubs planted within a Corten steel framework. The structure maintains the shape of the living walls and protects the plants from lagoon winds. The full route takes about 30 minutes to walk, with a total path length of 1,150 meters. Entrance and exit are the same point: the labyrinth is conceived as a space for meditation rather than transit.
From afar, it looks like a green carpet. From above, an open book emerges, with the name BORGES readable across its mirrored pages. Hidden within are other symbols from the writer’s world: a cane, mirrors, an hourglass, a tiger, a large question mark, and the initials of María Kodama. These directly reference Borges' life and texts: he lost his sight completely at 55, and the question mark reflects his love of riddles. Kodama insisted the garden be accessible to blind and visually impaired visitors.
Boxwood is not stone—it cannot simply be repaired. During restoration, 165 damaged shrubs were replaced, the irrigation system was repaired, the soil cleared of weeds and enriched with nutrients. New plants were sourced from nurseries in Northern Italy to suit the Venetian climate. Now they must take root and grow back into a unified pattern.
The key addition is a tactile map at the entrance, developed with the Italian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired: visitors can explore the labyrinth layout by touch before entering. The entrance path has also been improved for people with limited mobility.
The labyrinth is already open to visitors, but the project will continue to evolve. Plans include realizing Kodama’s idea of installing a handrail with a Borges text in Braille along the hedges. A glass sculpture in memory of Giorgio Cini is also planned.
In "The Garden of Forking Paths," the labyrinth is not space but time: every turn creates a new possibility and a new version of the future. The Venetian garden makes this metaphor visible—like in Borges' work, the labyrinth continues to branch.
@gorkjournal · GORK
3D · Photo · Render · Ai