Longwood Gardens, a botanical garden with about 1,100 acres in Pennsylvania’s Brandywine Valley, recently announced plans to transform its core area of conservatory gardens. Across 17 acres, the $250 million project will include expanded gardens and public spaces as well as new buildings.
Dubbed Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience, the project originated with a master plan developed in 2010 by West 8 with Weiss/Manfredi. Longwood has continued working with Weiss/Manfredi as lead designer, in collaboration with Reed Hilderbrand, on Longwood Reimagined. The project is managed by Bancroft Construction.
The centerpiece and largest element of Longwood Reimagined is a new 32,000-square-foot glasshouse, designed by Weiss/Manfredi, with gardens and pools designed by Reed Hilderbrand. With asymmetrical peaks, the West Conservatory will seem to float on water. Inside, the garden will comprise seasonally changing islands amid pools, canals, and low fountains. Building on the 19th-century tradition of glasshouses, the West Conservatory will include operable glass walls and roof.
Longwood’s Cascade Garden is being entirely relocated to a new, 3,800-square-foot glasshouse of its own. An outdoor Bonsai Courtyard will be built alongside the West Conservatory. A public restaurant and private event space will be carved into the topography facing the Main Fountain Garden. And above the restaurant and event space, the South Terrace and South Walk will provide a shady promenade extending along the conservatories to the West Terrace, with views toward the Brandywine’s meadows.
Other elements of the Longwood Reimagined project include the construction of an education and administration building with a library and classrooms, the renewal of the Waterlily Court, and the relocation and preservation of six historic Lord & Burnham glasshouses from the early 20th century.
Building Team:
Owner: Longwood Gardens
Design architect: Weiss/Manfredi, Reed Hilderbrand (landscape)
Architect of record: Weiss/Manfredi
MEP engineer: Jaros, Baum & Bolles
Structural engineer: Magnusson Klemencic Associates
General contractor/construction manager: Bancroft Construction
Related Stories
Building Team | Feb 13, 2019
3 exciting tech developments that show promise for AEC adoption
The BD+C editorial team is on a mission to track and evaluate the latest tech tools and trends that show promise for widespread AEC adoption.
Building Team | Jan 10, 2019
Skilled labor shortages continue to make off-site fabrication and construction attractive
But the AEC industry’s “culture” impedes greater acceptance, according to a recent National Institute of Building Sciences survey.
Building Team | Jan 7, 2019
2019 outlook: Firms not betting on another record-setting year
Despite the positive indicators for the market, AEC professionals remain largely cautious when it comes to growth prospects for 2019.
Building Team | Jan 4, 2019
Design-build delivery is setting new parameters for project management
FMI paper provides clues to what makes these contracts click (or not).
Building Team | Dec 11, 2018
And then there were two: HQ2 sites, in hindsight, seemed obvious
The two cities already had the greatest number of Amazon employees outside of Seattle.
Building Team | Oct 16, 2018
Dead lobby syndrome: An affliction only experience can cure
The competition for great tenants has rarely been as fierce as it is today.
Building Team | Aug 21, 2018
Five habits that are keeping your digital strategy from working
Strategies are always created with the best of intentions for improving business, the effort involved in executing the strategy – especially ones involving disruptive digital capabilities – is greatly underestimated.
Building Team | Aug 17, 2018
Silicon Valley is here. Get over it.
AEC firms continue to have angst about a tech-industry takeover of the market. One expert’s advice: “Embrace technology. Do not fear. You can shape it.”
Sponsored | Building Materials | Aug 1, 2018
Building for now... and the future
Metal building systems are often selected for large-sized structures, and with good reason.
