PHS Pops Up + Temple’s ‘ecolibrium’ Exhibit
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
1919 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
This unique experimental and temporary installation, lasting one growing season, has transformed an eyesore into a green oasis that includes food production, nutrition education and promotes sustainability.
Proposed entrance on Market Street
Proposed Layout – ‘ecolibrium’ exhibit, placed on a
gravel plaza, acts as the central organizing feature that
helps to anchor the whole garden. Service access from
20th Street divides the site into northern and southern halves
Temple’s ‘ecolibrium’ award winning exhibit at the 2011 Philadelphia International Flower Show
The PHS Pop Up installation in center city Philadelphia, inaugurated by Mayor Nutter, is serving as a place for many partnerships, programs and activities revolving around issues of food production, health, nutrition and education. Our design of this entire garden artfully uses ideas of sustainability and the celebration of natural processes to transform an urban eyesore into a green oasis. This temporary installation incorporates Temple’s award winning exhibit “ecolibrium” from the Philadelphia Flower Show, which serves as the arrival point and anchors the whole garden. (See Design-Academic section for details of the exhibit)
The garden is serving as a hub of activities with an on-going schedule of programs sponsored by PHS and their partners Franklin Institute, PECO, Verde Styles, and IBC. The design layout of the garden has proved to be conducive to many types of uses, as anticipated in the design. Classes and workshops include tai-chi, yoga, houseplants, organic gardening, and brain health, etc.
The design of the Pop Up installation extends the concepts of Temple’s ‘ecolibrium’ exhibit. The exhibit was inspired by the works of legendary landscape architect Le Notre and the modern art of Mondrian. Ideas of sustainability and celebration of natural processes were also an integral part of the design.
A wrought iron gateway, rescued from the Rodin Museum construction site, is located along Market Street. The Temple exhibit, which serves as the arrival point leading to the whole garden, is placed on a gravel plaza with generous spaces all around, defined with raised planters and ornamental Gold Medal plants.
The smaller western part is the herb garden and the sunny larger eastern part is the food production and demonstration garden, set against the white boundary wall hung with a large banner. This area is used for a range of activities for all ages – from tai-chi to gardening demonstrations, lunch time classes, to science workshops for kids (in partnership with the Franklin Institute). The garden is designed to facilitate a variety of events and activities.
These gardens constitute the sunny northern half of the site. The southern half of the site, separated with service access from 20th Street, is dedicated to urban agriculture and cut flowers. And beds of urban debris cleared from the site reminds visitors about the degraded ecology of many urban and industrial locations. Along the chain link fence,
the whole site is surrounded with meadow planting featuring whimsical topiaries.
OPENING CELEBRATIONS
The garden was inaugurated by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society President Drew Becher, and other dignitaries, local press, invited guests and the public at a festive opening celebration.
The Mayor is seen beside the greenhouse, with its colorful panels, observing the rain garden featuring a rain chain for rain water harvesting.
Mayor Michael Nutter shakes hands with Prof. Baldev Lamba at the garden opening where 10,000 ladybugs were released to mark the occasion.
BUGS AND BEES
The opening was marked with the release of 10,000 ladybugs into the garden. Ladybugs are natural predators of many types of pests and act as an organic alternative to chemical pesticide for common garden pests such as aphids.
A swarm of European honeybees landed on one of the trees in the garden on the first weekend after the opening to help in the pollination of the plants and, perhaps, to produce a little honey. These new guests have been safely housed in ‘beehaus’ beehives. When the Pop Up Garden folds up in late fall, the hives will be moved to another urban location.
URBAN DESIGN COMPETITION – NEW CAMPUS DESIGN
School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, India
Third Place Award
To be located on a 20 acre site in the south central ridge of New Delhi, the competition guidelines called for creative approaches to sustainable design. The proposed design includes extensive planted roofs, optimal orientation to sun and wind, rain water harvesting and preservation and enhancement of the ridge and valley landscape of the site. It represents a seamless merger of the natural and the built environments.
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Design Team: Chelsea West Architects, NYC and Lamba Associates Landscape Architects, PA
THE ARTS GARAGE, Francisville, Philadelphia, PA
Thr Arts Garage (TAG) represents a major urban revitalization project for the inner city neighborhood of Francisville. TAG will create an ‘alternative’ arts and cultural destination featuring a variety of activities, including dining, music, theater, arts and bazaar. The project will create a series of open green spaces to serve as outdoor venues.
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