OUTDOOR CLASSROOM AND VINE TRELLISES FOR THE ARNOLD ARBORETUM'S FLOWERING VINE AND SHRUB COLLECTION

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

The 265-acre Arnold Arboretum displays North America's premier collection of hardy trees, shrubs, and vines, and was originally designed by America's first landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted. The plan for the new gardens, as designed by Reed I Hilderbrand Landscape Architects, is organic in form and spatially rich, evoking both the botanical traditions of French parterre gardens and the intricate patterns found in nature, such as the branching of trees or the veined configurations of insect wings.

The Pavilion structure, designed by Maryann Thompson Architects, serves as an outdoor classroom and a place of repose, and is a focal point within the overall composition of the gardens. As one approaches the pavilion along the great wall, vine panels occlude views to the planted terraces and gradually reveal the shelter. The pavilion structure is comprised of brushed stainless steel beams and columns which support a roof of lead-coated copper over natural cedar tongue and grove. The juxtaposition of the wood elements with the stainless steel allows for a reading that is both modern and textured. Two sections of wood and metal roof float overhead with the same slightly skewed shapes as the planting beds, and the slot of space between the two roofs allows shafts of southern sun and views of the sky to penetrate to the terrace below. The exquisitely crafted stone walls which form a base for the structure connect it to the terraces and the hills and trees in the background.

The project received a 2003 American Institute of Architects New England Design Award, a 2002 Boston Society of Architects Design Citation and a 1999 Boston Society of Landscape Architects Unbuilt Honor Award.