Marjorie McNeely Conservatory
Today Naomi and I got to take a visit to Como Zoo, a place that everyone loves going to as a kid. However, our trip was a little different than awing at apes as a child. We took a walk into the Conservatory in order to get ideas for our Greenhouse Installation. From this trip, we gained many ideas. The conservatory had an entire garden dedicated to spices and agriculture, from palm trees to papayas to ginger, this place smelled, and looked beautiful. From this, we realized that including vegetation into our piece would be a way to turn it into a community garden of sorts. This would lure guests into our exhibit and be a fun way to provide local produce for people.
The conservatory also inspired us architecturally. It was entirely constructed of glass which made it beautiful (and nice and warm). Letting in sunlight, it felt welcoming. Gardens were arranged around paths and each plant had its own name tag to represent it by scientific and english name. We could incorporate aesthetics into representing them in our project. Vines were draped from walls and fountains filled the area with soothing sounds. Overall, the conservatory was a wonderful experience for the two of us and we hope to incorporate much of this into our final installation.
|