Longwood Gardens, located just outside of Philadelphia, recently announced the transformation of its core area of conservatory gardens. Dubbed Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience, the project will add new plantings and buildings across 17 acres.
Designed by Weiss/Manfredi and Reed Hilderbrand, the project will expand the public spaces of the central grounds and connect them from east to west to offer a newly unified journey through the grounds.
The centerpiece and largest single element of Longwood Reimagined is the creation of a new 32,000-sf glasshouse (designed by Weiss/Manfredi) with gardens and pools (designed by Reed Hilderbrand). This new West Conservatory will appear to float on a pool of water, while the garden inside is conceived as seasonally changing islands set amid pools, canals, and low fountains. The West Conservatory will be a living, breathing building with earth tubes and operable glass walls and a roof that allow the interior garden to thrive.
Longwood’s Cascade Garden will be relocated to a new 3,800-sf glasshouse of its own and a new outdoor Bonsai Courtyard, built alongside the West Conservatory, will feature a large bonsai collection. A public restaurant and private event space will be carved into the topography that faces the Main Fountain Garden. Above the restaurant the landscaping of a new South Terrace and South Walk provides a shady promenade extending along the existing and new conservatories to a new West Terrace.
Other project features include the construction of a new education and administration building, complete with a library and classrooms; the renewal of the Waterlily Court; and the preservation of six historic Lord & Burnham glasshouses from the early 20th century, which will be relocated at a later date and used for year-round garden displays.
Architectural elements will link the components across all 17 acres of the project site. In addition to Weiss/Manfredi and Reed Hilderbrand, the build team also includes Bancroft Construction Company. Longwood Reimagined is expected to break ground in spring 2021.
Related Stories
| Oct 19, 2014
White House Visitor Center reopens in Washington, D.C.
Designed by SmithGroupJJR and Gallagher & Associates, renovated center shows public its unique role as office, stage, museum, park, and home.
| Oct 16, 2014
Perkins+Will white paper examines alternatives to flame retardant building materials
The white paper includes a list of 193 flame retardants, including 29 discovered in building and household products, 50 found in the indoor environment, and 33 in human blood, milk, and tissues.
| Oct 15, 2014
Harvard launches ‘design-centric’ center for green buildings and cities
The impetus behind Harvard's Center for Green Buildings and Cities is what the design school’s dean, Mohsen Mostafavi, describes as a “rapidly urbanizing global economy,” in which cities are building new structures “on a massive scale.”
| Oct 12, 2014
AIA 2030 commitment: Five years on, are we any closer to net-zero?
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the American Institute of Architects’ effort to have architecture firms voluntarily pledge net-zero energy design for all their buildings by 2030.
| Oct 9, 2014
Steven Holl's 'intersecting spheres' scheme for Taipei necropolis gets green light
The schematic design has been approved for the 50 000-sm Arrival Hall and Oceanic Pavilion for the Taiwan ChinPaoSan Necropolis.
| Oct 8, 2014
First look: Woods Bagot unveils plans for new Christchurch Convention Center
The locally-inspired building is meant to serve as a symbol of the city's recovery from the earthquake of 2011.
| Oct 2, 2014
Budget busters: Report details 24 of the world's most obscenely over-budget construction projects
Montreal's Olympic Stadium and the Sydney Opera House are among the landmark projects to bust their budgets, according to a new interactive graph by Podio.
| Sep 24, 2014
Architecture billings see continued strength, led by institutional sector
On the heels of recording its strongest pace of growth since 2007, there continues to be an increasing level of demand for design services signaled in the latest Architecture Billings Index.
| Sep 22, 2014
4 keys to effective post-occupancy evaluations
Perkins+Will's Janice Barnes covers the four steps that designers should take to create POEs that provide design direction and measure design effectiveness.
| Sep 22, 2014
Sound selections: 12 great choices for ceilings and acoustical walls
From metal mesh panels to concealed-suspension ceilings, here's our roundup of the latest acoustical ceiling and wall products.
