FACT SHEET The Philadelphia Museum of Art opens its new Sculpture Garden on September 15, 2009. Located on the west side of the Museum, it offers visitors an aesthetic experience that is at once a sequence of galleries without walls and a sculpted expanse of landscape art. The one-acre site also offers an engaging dialogue with many other spectacular features of Fairmount Park, including the Azalea Garden, Boathouse Row, Lemon Hill Mansion, the Waterworks and the newly improved rocky escarpment and gazebo high above the river. Designed by OLIN landscape architects and Atkin Olshin Schade Architects, the garden further unites the Museum to surrounding areas of the park with its rolling contours, sculpted terraces, and natural landscaping. The initial exhibition is an installation of five stone sculptures by Isamu Noguchi, on view through Summer 2011. Project Design Team
The original design concept was developed by OLIN, with architectural design by Atkin Olshin Schade Architects.
Construction Manager: LF Driscoll
Structural Engineer: CVM Engineers
Parking Consultants: Walker Parking
DESIGN FEATURES Materials
• Over 1,000 large stones were previously located in walls on the surface of the site, about 75 percent of which were used to build the Sculpture Garden walls. Most of the remaining stones were used by Fairmount Park in various locations around the park.
• The concrete structure, including floors and walls, contains recycled steel slag Storm water management
• Green roof has been created, with soil depth ranging from one to five feet, enabling the planting of full-size trees and shrubs
• Total green roof area of 26,000 square feet has been created. It will naturally filter storm water run off to the Schuylkill River
• Repaired and reinforced existing wastewater outflow tunnel to eliminate Schuylkill River contamination
Landscape and vegetation
• The garden is divided into five sections, including three hard-surface terraces and two lawns
• Non-native invasive species have been replaced with hardy, indigenous plants chosen to provide a variety of flowering and fruiting displays
• Existing soils have been reused for new landscape beds
• Trees removed from the garage site have been relocated
Energy efficiencies
• The garage is naturally ventilated, eliminating need for mechanical exhaust fans
• Natural daylight penetrates deep into the garage; energy-efficient lighting fixtures are used where needed.
Transportation
• The garage will provide 442 covered accessible parking spaces
• Covered bicycle parking will be provided in the garage
• The Kelly Drive recreation path has been modified to ease access to the Museum and adjacent attractions
