Green design should be great design.
Aesthetics are not just icing on the cake – landscape features and projects are valued in part on how well they appeal to the people who use and visit them. Sustainable projects must measure up to aesthetic standards as well as to environmental ones.
A perfect example is the installation of a landscape art feature that Studioverde designed for the Margaret Chase Smith Federal Building. Studioverde and collaborators saw an opportunity to create an entirely new work of “art in the landscape” worthy of the high goals set out for the Design Excellence project. Garden Alcoves was completed in 2013, enhancing the entryway of this high-security facility.
We started with a design that celebrates a river ecosystem that is culturally valued by the local community. We worked collaboratively on the design and artful installation of native plants, locally sourced stone, and mixtures of recycled glass. Studioverde’s team was on-site during the entire installation working with the contractor to hand place the stone and materials for a sublime installation that has been described as “magical”.
The Garden Alcoves installation has received rave reviews from the clients and users of the building. Studioverde also earned praise for its talk on the installation from attendees at the 2015 Ecological Landscape Alliance Annual Conference, and will be featured at the prestigious Sustainable Landscapes Conference in March, 2016, hosted by University of Connecticut.
Studioverde designs artful installations of forms, textures, and materials found in nature that inspire admiration and reverence, forging deep connections with your special place.
“In the end,” writes Senegalese poet Baba Dioum, “we conserve only what we love.”