Christner Wins Two ASLA Awards
Date Posted: April 27, 2018
Posted In: News,
The 40-acre Donald Danforth Plant Science Center site has been transformed from a highly maintained commercial landscape into prairie and other native habitats to complement the 79,000 sf laboratory addition. The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) recognized the project with a Merit Award from ASLA St. Louis Chapter and a Merit Award from ASLA Central States. Six Chapters makeup the ASLA Central States and encompass the eight US states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Bioretentions manage storm water from parking lots and drives.
The Kemper Water Garden is a retrofit of the former fountain.
The building addition and site was designed and master planned to accommodate 120 additional scientists and plan for significant additional expansion in the future. The client found direct connections between their mission to “improve the human condition through plant science.” The restoration of over 6 acres of prairie on site, water garden, green roof and integrated bioretention basins was seen as an extension of the research that the Center undertakes – research of native grasses to feed the hungry in developing countries, improvement of human health and preservation and renewal of the environment.
The Danforth prairie is a model for the St. Louis region by embracing the benefits of native plantings and habitat development. The Center is a highly visible facility providing continuous programming around biodiversity and plant science with broad exposure to a multi-generational audience. The Center is a global leader that is leveraging their site to demonstrate the vital connections between native landscapes, biodiversity, and agriculture. Landscape Architects are recognized for leading the way.
From left to right: Laurel Harrington, Christner, Scott Woodbury, Shaw Nature Reserve, Dr. Toby Kellogg, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and Jonathan Ryan, Christner
The team…has created one of, if not the most successful tallgrass prairie landscape in the St. Louis region…the prairie has graced the campus with impressive drifts of showy coreopsis, blue sage and prairie grasses where a manicured corporate campus of Bradford pear and mowed lawn grew just three years ago.” —SCOTT WOODBURY, CURATOR WHITMIRE WILDFLOWER GARDEN AT SHAW NATURE RESERVE