Pennsylvania’s Longwood Gardens has released an update of an overhaul of its horticultural campus by WEISS/MANFREDI which will open in November 2024. Titled 'Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience,' and designed in collaboration with Reed Hilderbrand, the project is described by the venue as “the most ambitious revitalization in a century of America’s greatest center for horticultural display.”

Currently under construction, the project sees 17 acres on the Longwood Gardens site transformed into a visitor experience to host exhibitions, programs, and events. At the core of the scheme is a 32,000-square-foot conservatory designed by WEISS/MANFREDI as a “living and breathing glass house” with walls and roofs that open and close in response to the weather. The conservatory contains gardens, pools, and fountains designed by Reed Hilderbrand.

“The natural beauty of Longwood inspired our commitment to create a dialogue between nature and architecture and the new conservatory is the centerpiece of a cinematic sequence of open and enclosed gardens,” said WEISS/MANFREDI principals Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi in a joint statement about the project. “The relaxed geometries of the pleated conservatory roof and branching columns create tapered perspectives that link the informal geometries of the adjacent meadow with Longwood’s historic conservatories.”

Other elements of the Longwood Reimagined project include the construction of The Grove, a new education and administration building with a library and classrooms. Elsewhere, The Potting Shed will house the Bonsai Workshop for Longwood’s notable bonsai collection. The collection of bonsai will rotate through the new outdoor Bonsai Courtyard, designed by Reed Hilderbrand, which will create a gallery-like environment to appreciate specimens of rare Japanese tree species.