Emma Clark (garden designer)

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

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

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.