News Release
DENVER — Design Workshop, an international landscape architecture, planning, and urban design firm, has received an Honorable Mention in the Restoration and Preservation category of The Architect’s Newspaper 13th Annual Best of Design Awards for its work on Marble Garden at the Aspen Institute. The Architect’s Newspaper Best of Design Awards program showcases the year’s best buildings, landscapes, and interiors from around the world. Winners were selected based on innovation, creative use of technology, sustainability and design excellence.
“We were honored to help restore the Marble Garden, a place that represents such an important moment in modernist landscape history,” said Meg Plumb, senior associate at Design Workshop. “Our goal was to preserve the character and intent of Herbert Bayer’s design while ensuring the sculpture remains safe and vibrant for future generations to enjoy.”
The Marble Garden project successfully restored the 1955 site-specific sculpture by Bauhaus artist Herbert Bayer, which is recognized as one of the U.S.'s earliest examples of landscape as sculpture. Facing structural and material degradation from weathering and drainage issues by 2019, the restoration was guided by Design Workshop, the Aspen Institute and preservation experts who referenced historic documentation to honor Bayer's original intent. The complex process involved surgically removing, cleaning, and replacing each of the 21 marble slabs onto a new concrete base, while simultaneously improving the site's grading, drainage, and restoring the central reflecting pool to ensure the longevity and structural integrity of this nationally significant cultural work. The restored Marble Garden now welcomes visitors with renewed clarity and structural stability.
To read more about the Architect’s Newspaper Best of Design Award Honorees, click here.
Founded in 1969, Design Workshop is an internationally renowned design firm specializing in landscape architecture, urban planning, and strategic services with seven studios in the U.S. and projects spanning the globe. Our work focuses on the intersection of art, community, environment, and economics to increase social equity and create places of meaning and resonance. For additional information follow us at @designworkshop on LinkedIn and Instagram.