Tony Milne on 'More than Ornamental' for Abode Magazine
May 11, 2026
Tony Milne of RMM Landscape Architects explores his fondness for follies in the landscape, from playful architectural gestures to structures carrying much deeper meaning.
Tony has long been fascinated by follies – those curious and often misunderstood interventions in the landscape. Traditionally associated with the English landscapes of the 18th and 19th centuries, follies were often whimsical, non-functional structures positioned simply to create visual interest, encourage curiosity and enrich the experience of a place. For Tony, they are also a reminder that not everything in landscape design needs to be earnest, efficient or justified by utility – sometimes delight is reason enough.
His reflections extend to Bernard Tschumi’s Parc de la Villette in Paris, where 35 distinctive red follies act as markers, meeting points and catalysts for movement and play. Rather than simply decorating the landscape, they encourage visitors to wander, explore and experience the park as an evolving narrative.
But follies can carry a more sombre meaning too. Tony considers the famine roads of western Ireland, built during the Great Famine as meaningless labour for starving people. Today, these roads remain embedded in the landscape as reminders of suffering and endurance, demonstrating how seemingly purposeless interventions can acquire profound historical weight.
As Tony concludes, it is perhaps the tension between “whimsy and melancholy, delight and despair” that gives follies their enduring power.
Read Tony’s full article in the May/June issue of Abode Magazine here
Tony has long been fascinated by follies – those curious and often misunderstood interventions in the landscape. Traditionally associated with the English landscapes of the 18th and 19th centuries, follies were often whimsical, non-functional structures positioned simply to create visual interest, encourage curiosity and enrich the experience of a place. For Tony, they are also a reminder that not everything in landscape design needs to be earnest, efficient or justified by utility – sometimes delight is reason enough.
His reflections extend to Bernard Tschumi’s Parc de la Villette in Paris, where 35 distinctive red follies act as markers, meeting points and catalysts for movement and play. Rather than simply decorating the landscape, they encourage visitors to wander, explore and experience the park as an evolving narrative.
But follies can carry a more sombre meaning too. Tony considers the famine roads of western Ireland, built during the Great Famine as meaningless labour for starving people. Today, these roads remain embedded in the landscape as reminders of suffering and endurance, demonstrating how seemingly purposeless interventions can acquire profound historical weight.
As Tony concludes, it is perhaps the tension between “whimsy and melancholy, delight and despair” that gives follies their enduring power.
Read Tony’s full article in the May/June issue of Abode Magazine here
