Longwood Reimagined Opens

Late November might seem like an odd time to open a new conservatory and other new landscapes at a horticultural venue, but Christmas is a big deal at Longwood Gardens. The opening of Longwood Reimagined on November 22 coincides with the launch of A Longwood Christmas, when the 1,100-acre garden 30 miles west of Philadelphia is illuminated by more than half a million twinkling lights and festive fountain shows also take place. Beyond opening day, Longwood Reimagined will also be celebrated with two weeks of special events. But, you might be asking, what exactly is Longwood Reimagined?

Officially called Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience, the $250 million project by WEISS/MANFREDI and Reed Hilderbrand was unveiled in early 2021, on the 115th anniversary of Longwood Gardens. Following from a 2010 master plan by West 8 with WEISS/MANFREDI, the main element of the project is the new West Conservatory, a 32,000-square-foot glasshouse designed by WEISS/MANFREDI with asymmetrical, crystalline peaks and housing Mediterranean-inspired landscapes laid out by Reed Hilderbrand. With shallow pools all four sides of it, the freestanding building appears to be floating in water, while the interior landscapes are likewise laid out as islands amid canals and fountains.

Although the West Conservatory, which World-Architects got a peek at a year ago, is stunning, it is but one part of the larger, ambitious Longwood Reimagined project. The other pieces include:

• The relocation and preservation of the Cascade Garden, the only garden in North America by Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx, in a new standalone glasshouse designed by WEISS/MANFREDI near the West Conservatory;
• A new outdoor Bonsai Courtyard, designed by Reed Hilderbrand, just north of the West Conservatory;
• A new Central Grove by Reed Hilderbrand outside of the West
  Conservatory;
• The restoration of the Waterlily Court, designed by Sir Peter Shepheard in 1989, and a new arcade by WEISS/MANFREDI;
• A new West Terrace, designed by Reed Hildebrand, that overlooks a stand of plane trees dating to the 19th century and provides open views toward the Brandywine Valley;
• The new 1906 Restaurant (so named for Pierre S. du Pont's founding of the gardens in 1906) and Fountain Room event space, designed by WEISS/MANFREDI with a vista onto the Main Fountain Garden;
• An expansion by WEISS/MANFREDI of The Grove Administration and Education Building, just north of the Bonsai Courtyard.

While some of the elements, such as the Waterlily Court to the east of the West Conservatory, will be completed in spring 2025, the 1906 Restaurant opened last month, ahead of the Longwood Reimagined ribbon cutting this Friday. Tucked below a new grove of trees that sit adjacent to Longwood's historic conservatories, the restaurant's sizable arched windows look onto the fountains whose shows are one of the main draws for visitors. This space with views of the landscape and water feature is but one example of how Longwood Reimagined integrates itself into Longwood Gardens while also reimagining it.