new aspen art museum
Dissolving Boundaries: Landscape at the New Aspen Art Museum
The conventional streetscape demarcates zones of use in a very linear way, seldomly managing water on site and even less frequently sacrificing asphalt for planting. In the heart of Aspen, Colorado, is the dissolution of boundaries between street and structure that render this streetscape richly vegetated, sculpturally adorned, at once welcoming, and eminently thought-provoking. The abstract use of simple materials in symphony with a selective plant palette alters the perceptions of what comprises a street.
The project sees an extension of the pedestrian realm, forming a bioretention basin that manages rainwater on site, while additionally intaking excess stormwater from the roadway. The Aspen Art Museum Landscape stands as the first urban bioretention project in the city, setting the bar for beauty, functionality and environmental responsibility, while providing a noteworthy precedent for site water managment at high altitude. Conceived in concert with the New Aspen Art Museum structure, landscape and building strive for a lightness and cohesion that allows the voice of the installations and the essential character of Aspen to spring forth.
The project is featured in the September 2014 edition of Architectural Record and is the recipient of a 2017 AIA award, and a 2015 Colorado Chapter of the ASLA Merit award.
project type: landscape architecture
location: aspen, colorado
client: aspen art museum