Houston Botanic Garden
Houston Botanic Garden
Houston, Texas
Houston Botanic Garden is emblematic of the energy and diversity of Houston, America’s fastest growing and most multicultural city. Like the world’s preeminent botanic gardens, it showcases international plant collections to inspire and bring joy, while supporting a greater mission of conserving plant diversity in Houston and around the world. The garden opened in September 2020 with the completion of Phase One, “Botanic Beginnings.” Understanding that great gardens take time, Phase One will prioritize growing the collections, commitment to conservation and resilience, an inclusive welcome, and inviting Houston’s youth and families to the garden.
The incredible, rolling site bisected by an historic bayou offers a true escape from the city. Guests arrive via a new vehicular bridge across the oxbow of the bayou, and are then greeted by an allée of Live Oaks and a welcome pavilion incorporating natural stone, living walls, and vibrant plantings. The master plan is rooted in the site itself and millennia of garden design for tropical climates. The plan sites rare specimens and collection gardens “high and dry” above flood elevations and within a series of enclosed gardens framed by alcoves for weather and sun protection. Native collections and ecologically resilient landscapes line the bayous. This strategy found reinforcement when Houston suffered catastrophic flooding during Hurricane Harvey.
The “Global Garden,” the main Phase One collection, begins on the island’s highpoint. Three zones organize Tropical, Subtropical, and Arid collections from around the globe into a meandering, romantic garden. Further along, Houston’s rich diversity of cuisine is celebrated in the “Culinary Garden,” which showcases a diverse array of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and more. Lastly, the two-acre “Susan Garver Discovery Garden” features some of the wildest and most appealing plants for children, including carnivorous plants and water-loving species. A maze of boardwalks, a sandy beach and water play area, and naturalistic play structures allow children to spend time exploring the natural world at close range.
While at West 8, Unknown Studio’s Claire Agre served as Principal-in-Charge of the project, including award and commission of the project and leading all design phases from 2015 to 2019. While at West 8 Dave Zielnicki and Lisa DuRussel served as Senior Landscape Architects, contributing to the project’s design during the master plan.
Project timeline: 2015 - 2021
Client: Houston Botanic Garden
Scope: Master Plan, Full Design Services
Project Type: Garden | Culture | Urban
Size:
132 Acres (Master Plan) Complete
11 Acres (Phase 1) Complete
Budget: $35 Million (Phase I)
Team: West 8 urban design & landscape architecture, p.c. (Prime Consultant), Claire Agre, Principal-in-charge & Senior Landscape Architect, Dave Zielnicki, Senior Landscape Architect, Lisa DuRussel, Senior Landscape Architect
Partners | Consultants: Clark Condon, Overland Partners, Walter P. Moore, IAN+A, Sweeney Associates, Minor Design, SiteWorks, Olsson Associates, ELMscapes, Teri Hendy (SiteMasters), APE Studio Inc. + Richter Spielgerate, Dykema Architects, Inc., Berg Oliver, Lord Cultural Resources, ETM Associates.
