Story : Ben Hopkins   
Images : courtesy of Bill Bensley
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In his book, Paradise by Design, landscape architect Bill Bensley conjures up images from his childhood in Orange County, California during the 1960’s and 70’s. “It was  a time when orange trees grew mile after mile and you could smell their heavily scented blossoms all the way to the beach.”

A Riot of Colour

By the time Bill was strong enough to rip out a shrub he was working his family’s large suburban garden on an almost daily basis, and by high school he was busy transforming the gardens of neighbors, working in a world he describes as a “riot of color.”

Over three decades later, Bill’s company, the Bangkok based Bensley Design Studios has become a major brand for client’s that have included Four Seasons, Marriott, Sheraton, Oberoi, Pan Pacific and Anantara. His works emerge from nature like landscapes from a child’s mysterious imagination. The style is playful and exuberant, encapsulating an eclectic mix of the baroque and the maximist.

In the lush gardens of the Bensley Design Studios in On Nut, Bangkok, Bill explains how time has flown by, before diverting his attention to a playful Jack Russell and flinging a ball into the garden swimming pool. Our photographer snaps the dog in mid air before it splashes into the pool and retrieves the ball. Bill laughs out loud and begins to describe the journey that has led to his life in Bangkok. 

Education

“At Harvard I was the youngest in a class of 35 students. The students hailed from all over the world and were a talented bunch, but there was one guy, Lek Bunnag, from Thailand, who stood out from the rest. I actually learnt more from him than I ever learnt from Harvard.”

Lek Bunnag is today considered one of Thailand’s leading and most innovative architects. “When we graduated in 1984, Lek invited me to stay in Singapore with him and his wife, Louisa.”

With no solid plans, Bill took up the offer and chose to travel the slow way. “Yeah, I hitch-hiked through Europe on less than $10 a day, it was great fun but when I eventually landed in Singapore I was completely out of funds.”  It’s easy to imagine Bill, the wide eyed backpacker exploring Europe in the way a young child explores a strange garden, discovering its secrets and pocketing them away for future reference.

The theme of childhood regularly returns in conversation with Bill Bensley, not in a nostalgic sense but with an eye to maintaining a sense of originality untainted by forces that dictate trends and limit original vision. “I don’t believe in trends, what I aim for is to create something timeless,” Bill explains before putting his aspirations in check and laughing, “I’ve yet to do that, but its what I aim for.”

Natural Inspiration

When asked what he considers to be the fingerprint of his work he explains, “Fire, ever since I was young I’ve loved camping and trekking. I’ve always drawn inspiration from nature. We’d take the tents into the wild, fish and cook by an open fire. I love fire, the way it moves, and the way it dances like a sculpture in motion.”

Fire is an aesthetic and mood element of Bill’s work, but at the root of each creation, from the very moment a spark illuminates an imaginary landscape to the lighting of candles upon opening day, is a commitment to preserve the force and beauty of nature. “Respecting Mother Nature is at the core of everything we do. From the moment we dig into the soil our aim is to have minimal impact, to understand the soil and pay attention to the micro details of each piece of land we work upon.”

To site an example of Bill’s eco-sensitivity one need look no further than the Four Season’s in Koh Samui. “I was presented with a site a few years ago that had 856 very mature coconut palms and a brief to build 80 hotel villas,” he recalls. “Today, there are 856 palms on the site and 80 villas. Coconut palms penetrate the roofs, the decks, even the kitchens. It took 17 trips to the site, and I drove the client, the surveyor and the contractor mad, but it was worth it. The site is still as beautiful as when I first laid eyes on it.”

Again, images from a child’s imagination come to the fore - trees growing in the living quarters, penetrating the roof and exposing the stars. Then suddenly it comes to me, images from Maurice Sedank’s famous children’s book ‘Where the Wild Things Are.’ An abiding classic which tells the tale of a boy named Max, scolded by his mother for being wild and sent to bed early. At night trees begin to grow in his bedroom, the ceiling peels away to reveal the stars while his bedroom becomes a forest through which he wanders before sailing the seas to a strange land ‘Where The Wild Things Are.’ In this land Max is the King.

When I ask him if he’s ever read this book his expression illuminates and his voice rises. “Oh yeah sure, by Maurice Sedank, I love his paintings, for years I’ve been doing paintings based on his style. Children’s books have always had a major influence upon my work.”

The Great Outdoors

Wandering over the hills with a backpack, fishing and cooking one’s catch by an open fire under stars that swim in the sky are all activities integral to Bill’s creative process.

At dusk, we leave the garden to the domain of a young boy who’s playing fetch and catch with our canine friend – but even now, Bill can’t resist flinging the ball into the swimming pool once more, before leading us down some steps into his art studio.

“This is where the DNA for our projects take shape,” explains Bill. The studio is like a huge cauldron where ideas simmer and take form. “I employ a large team of extremely talented Thai artists; each and every one of them must be able to draw with their hands.”

In the studio there are huge numbers of drawings, paintings and sculptures, images and objects that permeate the conscious and the sub-conscious. Many of the images and sculptures stand as works of art in their own right but are created to form a whole, to blend into a project. “Each of our projects begins with a series of photos of the site upon which we plan to work – these photos represent the DNA of each project. Our artists will take the photos and overlay them with water color paintings, these images can be several meters in length.”

Attention to Detail

There are around 80 designers from various disciplines; architects, landscape architects, interior architects, fine artists, a lighting designer, horticulturists and drafting technicians working for the Bensley Studios. Every detail, down to the cutlery, is designed by the studio and nothing is used twice.

At present the team is working on about twenty different projects from the Mandarin Oriental in Budapest to the little known Sang Sa Islands in Cambodia. On average, each project takes three to five years to complete, during which time hundreds of paintings, sculptures and artifacts emerge and evolve to form an impressive body of work in their own right.

But don’t take my word for it, purchase a copy of Paradise by Design, and explore the world of Bill Bensley - a world where one’s imagination blends with nature.