2020 ASLA Professional Awards (continued)
Award of Excellence, Residential Design
Marshcourt, Hampshire, England
LA: Reed Hilderbrand, Cambridge, MA
Not everyone has the pleasure of working on one of the most famous landscapes in Britain, a historic estate that dates back to 1901-04, with plantings by garden designer Gertrude Jekyll and architecture by Edwin Lutyens.
New owners of the estate asked Reed Hilderbrand to restore the landscape, which was in a state of decline, and also to adapt it for a modern family. The original estate was 1300 acres, but this project focused on 100 acres surrounding the residence.
The firm consulted historical records in order to understand what remained of the original plan and what had been lost. As the firm noted, "Marshcourt is a quintessential expression of the Arts and Crafts Movement," ... and the project "required different landscape architecture approaches in different places: preservation, renewal or reinterpretation, and, elsewhere, entirely new design..."
Hundreds of yews were replanted to recreate elaborate terraced gardens, ranging from enclosed rooms with intensive plantings to open platforms with views over the river valley beyond. A native chalk meadow was re-established, and an oak canopy was replanted with an understory consisting of holly, hawthorn, and hornbeam.
The jury said the landscape now "recalls the height of Britain's Arts and Crafts movement through a thoughtful restoration and reinvention of work by acclaimed architect Edwin Lutyens with landscape design by Gertrude Jekyll.... rigorous historical analysis guided the contemporary restoration process and informed floral choices in areas where historic elements had been eliminated, adhering to original stylistic intent while incorporating a more sustainable palette of plants."
Landmark Award
Millennium Park, Chicago, IL
Millenium Park Foundation
Chicago's Millenium Park is now one of the most famous landscapes in the United States, drawing millions of annual visitors to the site for public programs and to enjoy the architecture, the modern art, and the exuberant plantings.
The park's basic design is classical Beaux-Arts in style, with grand walkways and allees of trees to create many rooms within the park. It includes a Cloud Gate by Anish Kapoor, a Crown Fountain by Jaume Plensa, and the BP Bridge and Jay Pritzker Pavilion by Frank Genry. The lush Lurie Garden is the work of Gustafson Guthrie Nichol and Piet Oudolf.
As the jury put it, "There can be no denying that Millennium Park has changed both the literal and figurative landscape of Chicago, as an accessible, public park with a wide diversity of spaces within a democratized urban realm. Transforming a rail yard into the city's cultural center has yielded 20 million annual visitors to the park, which has become a driver of $2.5 billion in tourism and business in Chicago. .... Millennium Park becomes a valuable social and public venue that serves as an exemplar for other cities seeking an urban catalyst."
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