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Photos from 1983 when our firm was contacted reveal the erosion issues as well as thinned out and browning plant material.
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Photos from later that year after our restoration began, show a dense slope of foliage successfully securing the soil in a soothing blanket of green. Plant materials are dense in texture, vibrant in color and the plan view looks reminiscent of Kiley’s design with four of the original magnolias in place.
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The chevron patterned skylight nourishes the garden with light while capping the building with sky to further transport visitors from the city to a distant woodland, or perhaps to an ancient one that existed on the site before colonization.
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Kevin Roche’s bold architectural gesture with the Ford Foundation provided a sharp departure to modernism from the International Style in 1968. The exposed steel frame and Core-ten finishes provided a sharp inorganic contrast to the lush 1/3 acre of garden inside.
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The fountain can be heard but not seen from many portions of the garden, luring people down to its refreshment below street for a moment of pause.
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The alternating silhouettes of podocarpus and Norfolk pines under planted with ferns transform the route to reception into an Appalachian hike for Ford Foundation employees and visitors.
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The zig-zag of paths through the garden widen and narrow providing a pooling and channeling effect that encourages guests to quicken and slow their pace in anticipation of green adventures around the next corner.
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The easternmost bed of the garden provides a unique microclimate that features some of the original camellias from the garden, seen here with delicate blooms.
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A layering of green textures envelopes an executive, entering the atrium from the 42nd street entrance.
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A total escape from the chaotic intensity of 42nd Street occurs for visitors immersed in the lush woodland flooded with light penetrating the woodland canopy.