Art Garden at Wichita Art Museum

Wichita, Kansas

In partnership with Derek Porter Studios

Awards:

2017 IIDA Award of Merit

2017 Prairie Gateway Chapter/ASLA Honor Award

Services: Exterior Lighting Design, Electrical Engineering, Lighting Controls

Landscape Architect: Confluence

Photography: Derek Porter

This Midwestern art museum desired a park-like setting to present its sculptures and offer a welcoming atmosphere to the surrounding residential community. With interest of breaking down social and cultural barriers, the Art Garden was conceived as an informal, family friendly outdoor environment with plaza and amphitheater areas, conceived as “rooms” that support summer time events and group gathering. The edges to the rooms are defined by trees that create vertical definition, landscape variation and frame views of the art works that are strategically positioned throughout the grounds. Important to the overall lighting design and pedestrian experience is a custom wood bollard that has five asymmetrically positioned luminaires strategically aimed at different angles to create spots of light along the primary walking path. The natural material and whimsical design offer a softer, less institutional presence in the landscape. During the day, the bollard to blends into the landscape while offering a moody and enchanted quality of light along the path at night.