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ON THE
TERRACE

Where the Pollinators Are, by Didier Design Studio

Pollinator and Bird Garden, Designed by Didier Design Studio,

Named Winner of International Sustainability Award

State College, United States

rchitizer recently announced the agenda to understand and explain the in specific, tangible ways, placing science

winners of the 2024 A+ Awards, recent decreases in pollinator and bird in the forefront in the context of climate
Athe largest awards programme populations across the world. change. There is hope in that action.”
focused on promoting and celebrating the Harland Patch, director of pollinator This agenda unfolds across the three
year’s best architecture. programming at the Arboretum, and and a half acre garden and realises three
Didier Design Studio, a landscape assistant research professor for the Penn interrelated goals: to directly convey
architecture firm based in Fort Collins, State College of Agricultural Sciences, and interpret scientific research being
Colorado, with expertise in all facets said, “The garden is unique in that it puts conducted on site, to offer an engaging
of design and planning, from vision to together habitat design and design that is place for people to learn about pollinator
completion, was selected as the 2024 accessible and beautiful to humans with a and bird habitats, and to inspire visitors
Jury Winner in Architizer’s Sustainable very diverse mix of plants, many of which to implement urban habitats within their
Landscape/Planning category for their you will not see in any other garden.” own private gardens. This latter goal has
project, “Where the Pollinators Are”. This Understanding and reversing pollinator the potential to exponentially impact the
category awards projects that incorporate species disappearances around the world spread of healthier ecological networks
sustainable systems and materials, and is critical to the continuation of human across already-developed landscapes.
which follow best practices pertaining existence. In the face of environmental To realise these goals, Didier assembled
to ethical design, construction, and and economic disaster, many are left a team of design experts and framed the
operation. with a sense of powerless inevitability. project as a collaborative journey with
The Jury-winning project is the In response, creative director of Didier research staff at The Center for Pollinator
Pollinator and Bird Garden, located at Design Studio and lead designer of the Research at Penn State.
The Arboretum at Penn State in State Garden, Emmanuel Didier said, “The Grounded in years of research, the
College, Pennsylvania. The project is a Pollinator and Bird Garden connects design approach transformed a level
direct extension of an ongoing research people with the issue of pollinator decline pasture to create a diverse set of ecological

56 Issue 280 • dw