Longwood Gardens Announces Weiss/Manfredi Led Revitalization

Today, Longwood Gardens unveiled plans for the transformation of its conservatory gardens, the most ambitious revitalization in a century of America's greatest center for horticultural display. Led by Weiss/Manfredi Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism, in collaboration with landscape architects Reed Hilderbrand, the project adds new plantings and buildings across 17 acres. The project will expand the public spaces of the renowned central grounds and connect them from east to west, offering a newly unified but continually varied journey from lush formal gardens to views across the open meadows of Pennsylvania's Brandywine Valley.

Highlights of the project include a new Weiss/Manfredi-designed 32,000-square-foot glasshouse, a restaurant overlooking the Main Fountain Garden, an education and administration building with views of the conservatory, and the relocation of The Cascade Garden into an all-new, 3,800-square-foot glasshouse—the only garden in North America by Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx.

"We're inspired by the sense of discovery and invention that are signatures of Longwood Gardens," said Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi, founders and principals of Weiss/Manfredi. "We conceived of the design as a cinematic journey, a sequence of experiences that range from intimate to grand...These transformations extend the DNA of Longwood Gardens through the creation of new settings for public enjoyment and delight."

You can read more about Longwood Reimagined here.