I’m working once again with my brilliantly creative pals at Metcalfe Architecture and Design. This time we’re down in Florida creating new exhibits for the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. Selby is a research garden that specializes in epiphytes. You may know these types of plants as "air plants" but also many kinds of ferns, bromeliads, and orchids are epiphytes. Epiphytes grow on other plants but are not, strictly speaking, parasitic.
The outdoor gardens, situated along the beautiful Sarasota Bay, feature many species within different habitats. The indoor greenhouses are stunning, with varieties of orchids and other epiphytes you may never have seen before.
This exhibit project is part of a larger architectural project that will be adding new sustainable buildings to the Garden's campus. The Garden plans to be a net-zero institution—collecting its own water, producing its own power, and setting a national example for thoughtful, sustainable practices.