Emma Clark (garden designer)

Emma Clark is a British garden designer, historian, and author.[1] She specialises in designing Islamic gardens.

Emma Clark
NationalityBritish
Known forIslamic garden designer
Notable work"Carpet Garden" at Highgrove House, garden at Cambridge Central Mosque

Life

edit
 
Gate and garden of Cambridge Central Mosque

Clark is the great-granddaughter of the former British prime minister, Herbert Asquith.[2] She developed an interest in Islamic gardens while studying under Keith Critchlow at the Royal College of Art in London.[3] She is a convert to Islam.[4][2]

Clark designed the "Carpet Garden," inspired by two Turkish carpets at Highgrove House, with Charles, Prince of Wales, and Mike Miller for the Highgrove gardens.[5][6]

She was approached by Muslim scholar Timothy Winter to design the Islamic gardens at the Cambridge Central Mosque, Europe's first eco-friendly mosque.[3][7][8] The garden was inspired by the Quranic depiction of heaven.[9][10]

Clark is also an instructor at The Prince's School of Traditional Arts.[11]

Publications

edit
  • The Art of the Islamic Garden (Crowood Press, 2004)
  • Mehmet the Conqueror with illustrations by Laura de la Mare (Hood Hood Books, 1997)
  • Underneath Which Rivers Flow: the Symbolism of the Islamic Garden (Prince of Wales's Institute of Architecture, 1996)
  • Sinan: Architect of Istanbul with illustrations by Emma Alcock (Hood Hood Books, 1996)

References

edit
  1. ^ Bratton, Susan Power (2020-12-30). Religion and the Environment: An Introduction. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-33433-4.
  2. ^ a b Jawad, Haifaa A. (2011-12-08). Towards Building a British Islam: New Muslims' Perspectives. A&C Black. ISBN 978-1-4411-7277-8.
  3. ^ a b "'A balm for the soul': How we made the Cambridge mosque garden". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
  4. ^ Abidin, Danial Zainal (2007). Islam the Misunderstood Religion. PTS Millennia. ISBN 978-983-3604-80-7.
  5. ^ Harrison, Robert Pogue (2008-11-15). Gardens: An Essay on the Human Condition. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-31786-1.
  6. ^ (Prince of Wales), Charles; Donaldson, Stephanie (2007). The Elements of Organic Gardening: Highgrove, Clarence House, Birkhall. Kales Press. ISBN 978-0-9670076-9-4.
  7. ^ "Cambridge Central Mosque: the tranquil garden of Europe's first eco mosque". Gardens Illustrated. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
  8. ^ "Inside Europe's first eco-mosque". stories.clare.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  9. ^ "Inside Cambridge's new £23m mosque: a forest runs through it". the Guardian. 2019-03-17. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
  10. ^ "'Substance and Sustenance'". Faith & Form. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
  11. ^ "Our Team". The Prince's Foundation. Retrieved 2022-05-31.