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Tuesday, October 16, 2018
Return of the Ogee: Phipps Restores Historic Glass Architecture
Nest - October 2018: When Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Schenley Park opened to the community in 1893, it consisted of nine display rooms featuring exotic plants from around the world — and grand glass architecture.
I went to Phipps Conservatory for the first time with my family this past weekend, and I absolutely loved it. I believe I went through the Palm Court, and I was heavily impressed by the plants as well as the gorgeous architecture. It is wonderful that the Conservatory took the time to restore the original design to the building, as it looks fantastic. Everywhere you look in Phipps you will find something visually striking. Every plant in the greenhouses is carefully placed and showcased in a unique way to show off its individual qualities. The architecture of Phipps manages to bring out the natural beauty of everything within it, while still standing independently as a separate piece of art. The president of Phipps, Richard Piacentini, is correct in saying that Phipps is one of the most beautiful botanical conservatories out there. I’ve only been to a few in my lifetime, but I was blown away by Phipps and the care put into making it an enjoyable and interesting experience for all who go there.
I only recently visited the Phipps Conservatory for the first time, and I have to say that I quite enjoyed my time there. Though the age of the building is showing quite a bit, it was quite an interesting experience. There are many plants there which I would not normally have the fortune of viewing. This includes plants such as Bonsai trees and an arabica coffee plant. I was able to see the restoration of the ogee before its initial opening, however I did not realise exactly what I was looking at. While I was looking at the images presented in this article, and comparing them to other recent images of Phipps, I can see a clear difference and improvement in the glass ceiling between these. I am glad that we, as Carnegie Mellon students are able to so easily access such an important and beautiful environment such as Phipps Conservatory.
Every time I see a picture of the conservatory I think of the titular song from Meet me in St Louis with the lights of the Exposition glittering off the hundreds of panes of polished glass. Being from Chicago this type of architecture is undoubtedly my favourite. Everything in Chicago built after the fire has the style of the Chicago Columbian Exposition, we have everything except an old fashioned glass structure like the conservatory. I am a huge fan of history so I love it when historical buildings are restored to their former glory for the next generations to discover, explore, and enjoy. There is a nice botanical garden in Chicago, but there is something just stunning about Phipps. It reminds me very much of the garden seen in Alice in Wonderland, as if just around a hedge with be the Queen of Hearts playing croquet. As much as it feels old fashioned there is this whimsy to it that makes it enjoyable and not at all stuffy like some old fashioned museums can be, it feels alive and young, probably because the plants are, well, alive. Now I just can not wait to see it decorated for Christmas which I have heard is quite extraordinary.
Aha. So this is why the main court was partially not accessible throughout the spring and summer. Now I understand. I think it is really great that instead of modernizing or changing the design of the roof, they chose to preserve the original architectural design, which is by the way really beautiful. They chose to fit the construction schedule into the tight timeline between April and October, and enhance the original design with more stability. I love and support the decisions they made. Whenever I visited Phipps, I always got curious about running a botanical garden. There are some outdoor displays, but mostly the plants are indoors, and they change out the plants every season! Where do the replaced plants go, where do they grow the new plants and how on earth do they do that overnight? Could there be another labor union like IATSE who specializes in such work? Since they host many events, there must be people who manage the events as well. I would be really interested in learning about all of these.
4 comments:
I went to Phipps Conservatory for the first time with my family this past weekend, and I absolutely loved it. I believe I went through the Palm Court, and I was heavily impressed by the plants as well as the gorgeous architecture. It is wonderful that the Conservatory took the time to restore the original design to the building, as it looks fantastic. Everywhere you look in Phipps you will find something visually striking. Every plant in the greenhouses is carefully placed and showcased in a unique way to show off its individual qualities. The architecture of Phipps manages to bring out the natural beauty of everything within it, while still standing independently as a separate piece of art. The president of Phipps, Richard Piacentini, is correct in saying that Phipps is one of the most beautiful botanical conservatories out there. I’ve only been to a few in my lifetime, but I was blown away by Phipps and the care put into making it an enjoyable and interesting experience for all who go there.
I only recently visited the Phipps Conservatory for the first time, and I have to say that I quite enjoyed my time there. Though the age of the building is showing quite a bit, it was quite an interesting experience. There are many plants there which I would not normally have the fortune of viewing. This includes plants such as Bonsai trees and an arabica coffee plant. I was able to see the restoration of the ogee before its initial opening, however I did not realise exactly what I was looking at. While I was looking at the images presented in this article, and comparing them to other recent images of Phipps, I can see a clear difference and improvement in the glass ceiling between these. I am glad that we, as Carnegie Mellon students are able to so easily access such an important and beautiful environment such as Phipps Conservatory.
Every time I see a picture of the conservatory I think of the titular song from Meet me in St Louis with the lights of the Exposition glittering off the hundreds of panes of polished glass. Being from Chicago this type of architecture is undoubtedly my favourite. Everything in Chicago built after the fire has the style of the Chicago Columbian Exposition, we have everything except an old fashioned glass structure like the conservatory. I am a huge fan of history so I love it when historical buildings are restored to their former glory for the next generations to discover, explore, and enjoy. There is a nice botanical garden in Chicago, but there is something just stunning about Phipps. It reminds me very much of the garden seen in Alice in Wonderland, as if just around a hedge with be the Queen of Hearts playing croquet. As much as it feels old fashioned there is this whimsy to it that makes it enjoyable and not at all stuffy like some old fashioned museums can be, it feels alive and young, probably because the plants are, well, alive. Now I just can not wait to see it decorated for Christmas which I have heard is quite extraordinary.
Aha. So this is why the main court was partially not accessible throughout the spring and summer. Now I understand. I think it is really great that instead of modernizing or changing the design of the roof, they chose to preserve the original architectural design, which is by the way really beautiful. They chose to fit the construction schedule into the tight timeline between April and October, and enhance the original design with more stability. I love and support the decisions they made. Whenever I visited Phipps, I always got curious about running a botanical garden. There are some outdoor displays, but mostly the plants are indoors, and they change out the plants every season! Where do the replaced plants go, where do they grow the new plants and how on earth do they do that overnight? Could there be another labor union like IATSE who specializes in such work? Since they host many events, there must be people who manage the events as well. I would be really interested in learning about all of these.
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