The New York Botanical Garden / Heritage Landscapes



Botanical Gardens & Conservatories

Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens
Buffalo, New York

The 11.4-acre landscape of the Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens encompasses the late nineteenth century Conservaotroes and glasshouse and their surorudning botanical collections in South Park . Designed in 1894 by Olmsted, Olmsted, & Eliot, the park integrated public horticultural education and scenic enjoyment in an arboretum collection of indoor and outdoor plants displayed in a triple domed Conservatory and around a naturalistic lake. With the passing of time both collections deteriorated. In 2001 the BECBG Society, the private partner collaborating with Erie County, commissioned Flynn Battaglia Architects and Heritage Landscapes to update the master plan for the gardens developing a vision for an enlivened facility that would sustain and enhance the mission of the botanical gardens as a vibrant public education venue for the region. Heritage Landscapes benefited from our previous research of the Buffalo Olmsted System that included historic documentation of South Park , Using that documentary basis, meetings with park and botanical gardens staff, interviews with educators and a review of existing facilities and conditions formed a basis for design concepts. Heritage Landscapes developed alternatives for interior exhibit collections exploring themes climate and ecology, culture and horticulture, heritage and evolution of South Park , the Olmsted Parks , parks with glasshouses, and plants for food, health, and shelter. Each of these themes focused current and potential plants collections in the Conservatories or botanical garden collections. The master plan addressed buildings, collections, gardens and related landscape functions. An important objective was to reconnect the gardens to both glasshouses and broader park enlarging programmatic and educational opportunities to complement expanded facilities and interior horticulture collections. Implementation of the master plan is underway with the rehabilitation of the main dome, the installation of the Palms of the Americas collections and a globally engaging longitude theme of interior exhibits underway.

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Client:
Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens Society Board of Directors, in cooperation with Erie County , Horticulture and Operations and Maintenance Staffs

Project:
Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens Master Plan, 2001

Project Credits:
Heritage Landscapes, Preservation Landscape Architects & Planners, team leader Flynn Battaglia Architects, PC.