Steward Family Plaza now open at The Sheldon
Date Posted: December 20, 2019
Posted In: Projects,
From The St. Louis American: Steward Family Plaza is now open at The Sheldon in Grand Center. Designed by Benjamin Gilmartin with Cobalt Office. The plaza, walkway and vertical garden connects The Sheldon with the Jack Galmiche Public Media Commons to the south and Washington Boulevard to the north.
The centerpiece of the plaza is a three-story, 208-foot long vertical garden along the west wall of The Sheldon’s Emerson Center building, designed by Gilmartin, Andrew Colopy of Colbalt Office, and collaborating engineers Algis Lencus and Michael Ludvik from M. Ludvik Engineering.
The project’s landscape architect, DLANDstudio, Inc. – in collaboration with Scott Woodbury, director of Shaw Nature Reserve (part of Missouri Botanical Garden) – designed the garden to flourish year-round, with native Missouri vines. The plants will grow up and onto the steel panels, creating an architectural sculpture and urban green space. LED lights are placed in over 200 connecting nodes to create a firefly effect at night.
Vertical gardens (or green walls) have been shown to filter air pollutants and absorb CO2, improving air quality. The use of native plants increases these benefits, with the additional outcomes of eliminating the use of pesticides and fertilizers, and providing efficient water usage — the garden in Steward Family Plaza is expected to divert almost half a million gallons of storm water per year. Green walls also act as natural insulators, leading to decreased energy use.