WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Marking a first step in the transition from concept to creation, the National China Garden Foundation announced today the selection of an architectural design and engineering team. Led by the architectural firm, Page Southerland Page (PSP), the team, assumes responsibility for site plan development, civil engineering, infrastructure design and more. The selection comes following a competitive bidding process directed by the National China Garden Foundation’s Board of Directors.
Page Southerland Page and its colleagues will support a Joint Design Team comprised of Chinese and American representatives already working collaboratively to bring to fruition the vision of a classical Chinese garden and center for cultural study. The garden is slated for construction at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. It is intended as a permanent testament in the nation’s capital to the strength and importance of U.S./China relations. Project funding is to be raised through a $60 million capital campaign focused on private resources needed not only for design and construction, but also long-term maintenance and operation.
Page Southerland Page leads a comprehensive team comprised of engineers, landscape architects, and mechanical contractors working together to realize a plan originally created by a Chinese design team at the conceptual stage of the project. PSP team members include:
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Rhodeside Harwell with Peter Liu – Landscape Architecture
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Dewberry – Civil/Structural/Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing Engineering
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Schnabel Engineering – Geotechnical Engineering
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Rolf Jensen Associates – Code and Security Consulting
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Wells Associates – Traffic and Transportation Engineering
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Harmony Ponds – Koi Pond and Water Feature Design
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Belstar, Inc. – Construction Cost/Project Management
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C.M. Kling + Associates – Lighting Design
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Lynch Associates – Irrigation Planning and Consulting
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URS Burlington – Archaeological and Historic Documentation and Preservation
“Our selection committee was especially impressed that Page Southerland Page assembled such a diverse pool of expertise for this important project,” said Bob Stallman, chairman of the National China Garden Foundation board of Directors. “We have utmost confidence in their ability to complement the Joint Design Team and cooperatively construct a classical Chinese Garden,” Stallman concluded.
Collaboration, continuity and compatibility are hallmarks of the design concept for the National China Garden. From the outset, a collaborative effort between the Chinese and American governments helped bring the original vision to life. That vision arose from a 2004 agreement between the China’s Ministry of Forestry and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to build a Chinese Garden in Washington, D.C. A formal agreement to construct the garden at the Arboretum was signed by both governments and extended with a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2011 by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and China’s Ambassador to the United States Zhang Yesui. The MOU calls for a 12-acre facility on an undeveloped parcel at the Arboretum donated by the US Congress for the project and managed by the USDA Agricultural Research Service.
While there are other examples of classical Chinese gardens in the United States (California; Missouri; New York) the National China Garden at the Arboretum is expected to be the finest demonstration of a harmonious balance of man-made structures, plants, water and rockeries. More than just a beautiful garden for the public to visit and enjoy, the project is envisioned to be a venue for visitors from around the world to learn, enjoy and gain an appreciation for the profound influence of China’s history of horticulture and garden design.
“Page Southerland Page is delighted to have the opportunity to contribute to the cultural landscape of our nation’s capital,” said Thomas McCarthy, AIA, LEED AP and Principal with Page Southerland Page. “The National China Garden will offer an exceptional location for experiencing the sensual delights of a classical Chinese Scholar’s Garden as the backdrop to exhibits, events and classes. Designed to be a beautiful destination during every season, the Garden will be particularly poignant when hosting programs and events to celebrate our evolving relationship with China,” Thomas concluded.
Once completed, the U.S. National Arboretum will own the China Garden. In addition to the garden itself, the venue will feature some 22 structures, art and furnishings provided by the People’s Republic of China. It will serve as the location for meetings, conferences, special events in addition to public tours and year-round cultural and educational activities.
The national China Garden at the U.S. Arboretum is expected to become an important tourist destination and cultural center in the nation’s capital.
About the National China Garden Foundation:
The National China Garden Foundation (NCGF) was formed in 2011 with a mission to create the premier classical Chinese garden and center for cultural study and practices in the nation’s capital with the high-level cooperation of the US and Chinese governments, and in particular the US Department of Agriculture under that Department’s authorities, and with the Government of the People’s Republic of China, and in particular, the State Forestry Administration, under that Administration’s applicable authorities. For more information go to www.nationalchinagarden.org
About Page Southerland Page:
With roots extending back to a two-person partnership formed in 1898 in Austin, Texas, Page Southerland Page is one of the most prolific and enduring architectural and engineering design practices. This partnership—one of the very first to offer integrated architectural and building engineering services— has evolved into a widely diversified planner and designer of the built environment. A staff of over 425 architects, engineers, interior designers, strategic analysts, planners and technical specialists provides Page Southerland Page with the resources and the network of professional affiliations to responsibly handle projects of all scales and schedules anywhere in the world. The firm’s international portfolio includes projects in the government, healthcare, academic, science and technology, corporate and urban housing sectors, located throughout the United States and in over 50 countries worldwide. Learn more about the firm at www.pspaec.com.
About Rhodeside Harwell:
Rhodeside Harwell has provided landscape architectural services for projects from New York to California, as well as many sites overseas. The firm’s design philosophy and processes encourage creativity, contextual sensitivity, and a disciplined sense of respect for environmental considerations, cost parameters, and most of all, client objectives. Our portfolio reflects decades of experience working within both the public and private sectors. Rhodeside Harwell offers a diverse set of skills—from feasibility studies and site analysis through community outreach and final design and construction administration. The firm’s projects have frequently earned awards for design excellence and have been published in many prominent magazines and other publications.
About Peter Liu:
Peter H. Liu, ASLA, is the founding principal of Peter Liu Associates, Inc. Mr. Liu is a landscape architect with over 30 years of experience in landscape architecture and planning. Prior to the founding of his own firm in 2002 he worked at the renowned firms of Skidmore, Owings Merrill (SOM) and EDAW (now AECOM) through the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was a founding principal of Lee Liu Associates, Inc. in Washington, D.C. from 1987 to 2002. As a member of the D.C. Mayor’s advisory Chinatown Steering Committee, Mr. Liu routinely reviews the design of all new development projects and new signage in the Chinatown District and constantly coordinates the approval process with the D.C. Government’s Office of Planning, Historic Preservation Review Board, Department of Transportation, and Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs.
Among Mr. Liu’s many notable projects are his work on the new Chinese Embassy at Van Ness Center and installation supervision of the Penjing pavilion at the US National Arboretum.
About Dewberry:
Dewberry is a leading professional services firm with a proven history of providing architecture, engineering, and management and consulting services to a wide variety of public- and private-sector clients. Recognized for combining unsurpassed commitment to client service with deep subject matter expertise, Dewberry is dedicated to solving clients’ most complex challenges and transforming their communities. Established in 1956, Dewberry is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, with more than 40 locations and 1,800+ professionals nationwide.
About Schnabel Engineering:
Schnabel Engineering’s experience dates back more than half a century to 1956, when founder Jim Schnabel established one of the first firms in the Mid-Atlantic to offer services in soil mechanics engineering. Today Schnabel Engineering is an energetic and dynamic company offering professional services within the United States and abroad from 18 offices throughout the continental United States. Schnabel Engineering offers highly specialized services in geotechnical engineering; geostructural design; dam engineering; tunnel and underground engineering; environmental, geophysical and geosciences; construction monitoring; and resident engineering from locations throughout the United States.
About Rolf Jensen Associates:
Rolf Jensen Associates, Inc. (“RJA”) is a leading consulting firm providing a range of professional services involving life safety, fire protection, security and mass notification on commercial, institutional and industrial projects for clients worldwide. Founded in 1969, RJA is headquartered in Chicago with 21 offices located in major U.S. cities, China, the Middle East and the Western Pacific. To date, RJA has participated in more than 50,000 projects worldwide. These projects include government facilities ranging from military installations and embassies to courthouses and the headquarters for the FBI; landmark high-rise buildings in the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Middle East; major gaming complexes from Las Vegas to Macau; biomedical, applied science and laboratory facilities on the campuses of leading colleges and universities; world-renowned hospitals; hotels owned and operated by the leading names in the hospitality industry; manufacturing plants; and large venue assembly and convention centers around the world.
About Wells Associates:
Wells + Associates is a nationally recognized transportation and traffic engineering firm delivering traffic engineering services to private real estate developers, public agencies, corporations, and institutions. In the past 20 years, Wells has worked in 34 states, the District of Columbia, and four foreign countries. The principals of the firm each have 15 to 35 years of individual experience in the fields of transportation planning, traffic engineering, parking management, traffic signal design, traffic control plans, travel demand management, transit planning, and transportation master plans.
About Harmony Ponds:
Harmony Ponds is an award-winning design/build firm with over 18 years of experience in the design, construction, and maintenance of ponds, fountains, splash parks, waterfalls, streams, storm water management ponds, and related systems for commercial and residential clients. Harmony Ponds specializes in the technical design and installation of water features; water handling systems for fountains and water features including ornamental and koi ponds, utilizing the latest technology in biological filtration, ultra-violet sterilization, and energy-efficient pump systems; water quality management for large ornamental and storm water management ponds using floating fountains and laminar flow aeration systems; and consulting on habitat design, aeration, and filtration.
Belstar, Inc.:
Established in 1985, Belstar, Inc., is a construction cost/project management company providing comprehensive services related to the design, pre-construction, procurement, construction, and post-construction phases of building and infrastructure development. With four home offices in Virginia and Maryland, Belstar offers a highly experienced team of experts, fully automated technical resources, and the flexibility to perform the entire scope of cost/project management services from the concept phase to the post-construction phase, either in-house or on-site, as may be required. Belstar clients include a multitude of public and private sector organizations, including architectural/engineering companies, general contractors, commercial developers, municipalities, state and federal agencies, military agencies, and educational and religious organizations.
C.M. Kling + Associates:
Since its establishment in 1980, C.M. Kling Lighting Design, later C.M. Kling Associates, Inc. has collaborated on and designed the lighting for over 2,500 projects worldwide, with such diverse scope and scale as convention centers, hotels, religious institutions, corporate campuses and headquarters, office complexes, and theaters. Kling’s staff is trained in various fields, including architecture, engineering, and design, providing a wide perspective and skills that aid in all aspects of project development. Kling lighting designers understand that lighting is only a component part in the establishment of the experienced environment, whether in architecture, landscape, or cityscape; through the collaboration and integration with each other design component, successful projects are created.
Lynch Associates:
Lynch Associates was originally founded in 1988 by Brendan Lynch as Eastern Irrigation Consultants, Inc., with offices in Boston and Washington. Since 1992 the firm has been known as Lynch Associates, Ltd., Irrigation Consultants, consisting of the Washington (now Annapolis) office. Lynch Associates, Ltd. is a Native American-owned Maryland Sub-Chapter “S” Corporation dedicated to providing the client with the most efficient, cost-effective means of replacing water lost from soil through evapotranspiration. In pursuit of this objective, a heavy emphasis is placed on overall master planning, central control, weather monitoring, precipitation and soil-moisture sensing, and, where applicable, development of alternate water sources including groundwater withdrawal, river/stream, lake/pond, as well as the use of treated effluent, gray water, and other harvested recycled/reclaimed water.
URS:
URS Burlington conducts studies for projects involving construction of industrial and institutional facilities, transportation improvements, installation of aboveground and underground utilities, and commercial and residential development, along with developing and implementing extensive public outreach programs in support of these projects. These services are provided to increase sensitivity and stewardship in historic preservation. URS is committed to community involvement, providing broad public outreach products, and is particularly sensitive to the needs of culturally diverse, transitional, and traditional communities. Staff members also have extensive experience dealing directly with state and federal agencies, and several staff members have worked for state historic preservation offices, state departments of transportation, and federal agencies throughout the Eastern United States.
Copyright Business Wire 2013
