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How Does Your Conservatory Grow? This spring, the Lyman Conservatory will join the campus club of facilities under construction as it begins a two-year renovation that will expand its public and teaching spaces and provide access for persons with disabilities. Scheduled to begin in April, the $5
million renovation is projected to be completed by the end of
2002, says Michael Marcotrigiano, director of the Botanic Garden,
who is overseeing the project. The renovation will quadruple
the facility's exhibition space and add a sizable rooftop garden,
a new classroom, office and lab space, storage facilities, restrooms
and enclosed
Perhaps more importantly, the renovation, which is designed by the Boston architectural firm Perry Dean Rogers and Partners, will restore the facility's 12 greenhouses -- some of them more than 100 years old -- and upgrade the technology for maintaining an important collection of plants from habitats around the world. Finally, the renovation will remove or encapsulate asbestos and lead in the building in compliance with the state health code. Marcotrigiano, who began as director of the Botanic Garden in August, says the renovation is necessary for increasing the building's structural viability and longevity, as well as the space his department needs to operate. Originally built in 1896 to accommodate a single teacher and staff person, the Lyman Conservatory (formerly Lyman Plant House) now has seven employees, plus a crew of volunteers and interns. "I'm very excited that this is happening," Marcotrigiano says of the renovation. "This is a long-term investment. We're moving up a century. We have a lot of functions that are difficult to do in an office setting. [The architects] have addressed that in the plan." Despite extensive changes to the facility, the exterior of Lyman Conservatory won't change dramatically. The easternmost façade of the building will be advanced a few feet, and there may be some landscaping added around the premises to encourage water flow away from the conservatory. A large space inside the entrance, now used primarily for potting, will be expanded, air-conditioned and used for public receptions and exhibitions. All passageways will be equipped with wheelchair-accessible ramps, except one, which will be accessible by a new elevator. Most of the new space will be in an underground addition built into the hill on the east side of the building. During the renovation, all Botanic Garden offices will remain open, as will some of the Lyman Conservatory's display space, says Marcotrigiano. However, the conservatory's shows-including the popular fall Chrysanthemum Show-will be canceled for the duration of the renovation, while the collection of plants will be reduced and some plants will be temporarily stored elsewhere.-ESW |
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NewsSmith
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Copyright © 2001, Smith College. Portions of this publication
may be reproduced with the permission of the Office
of College Relations, Garrison Hall, Smith College, Northampton,
Massachusetts 01063. Last update: 1/25/2001.
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