el otro, el mismo

Harvard Graduate School of Design
Cambridge, MA
Prof. Chris Matthews
with Brian Kohan
Fall 2022    

El Otro, El Mismo, the short story by Jorge Luis Borges, inspired the design of two forest gardens. On a winter day in 1969 while visiting Cambridge, Borges sits on a bench. A young stranger sits near him. His younger self. Slowly, the older Borges realizes they are living two separate lives, two gardens of forking paths. 
Each garden uses the same tree species, representing different ages. The spring Jacardana, native to Borges’ Argentina, blooms a bright purple. The autumn gingko is a brilliant yellow that blankets the ground. Each ends with a stand of white pines, a wintery silent scene. The garden organization varies depending on each Borges’ outlook - the younger Borges, who values creativity, walks down a more winding path, where eras mix freely, while the older Borges looks back on his life, organized into clear eras. Yet the two coexist.