Monday, July 29, 2019

The Garden in Concourse C

Mid-June we flew into the Denver Airport, Concourse C specifically. Since we were in Denver to attend the 2019 Garden Blogger's Fling, gardens were on my mind. Yet I would have completely missed this odd airport garden had Andrew not spotted it...

Maybe calling it a garden is a bit of a stretch, but those are plants, and they are real.

Naturally I turned to Google to find out what it was all about.

Turns out the installation—which dates back to 1995 and "mimics ancient ruins alive with plant life and flowing water"—has been a bit of a maintenance nightmare according to airport officials "who want to be rid of the needy artwork". They say the garden "leaks, attracts pests, and “creates a hazardous situation for passengers.”" (source)

The desire of airport officials to remove the garden ran into push-back from arts advocates. The original work was made possible by a Denver policy that sets aside 1 percent of every major construction budget for art, those advocates see the garden as "a significant piece of the city's artistic identity that needs to be preserved." (source)

Photos on the artist's website (Michael Singer Studio) show a much lusher garden than the one I saw last month.

Another story I found, dated July 2017, had the headline "City Approves Deaccessioning Michael Singer's Interior Garden...With Stipulations"

Yet I visited two years later and the garden is still there...

There doesn't appear to be any flowing water however.

At least none visible to the causal viewer. There must be water available for the plants, unless maintenance staff uses hoses to irrigate.

The work has two sides, divided by an open air space below where passengers catch the train to the main terminal. All the photos above, and the one below, were of one side.

This is the other side...

I didn't even notice that airplane in person, it wasn't until looking at my photos that I saw it.

So what's your opinion of the garden?

Do you think it should be saved?

Do you think it even qualifies as a garden?

I rather like it. It's odd, a little austere...

But a nice change from the usual airport fast food and quick grab and go shops.

Weather Diary, July 28: Hi 85, Low 60/ Precip 0

All material © 2009-2019 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

22 comments:

  1. I love this! I wish I had seen it when I was there. I definitely think it qualifies as a garden. I wish it were possible for people to interact with it. It certainly looks very much like a Denver garden, with all those rocks. I wonder if maintenance is a nightmare because access is limited? Perhaps another instance of artists treating plants as inanimate objects/furniture.

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    1. No doubt there are hidden doors that provide access for maintenance staff? I would hate to think of them rappelling their way down the cement wall to get to the plants.

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  2. I think it is a wonderful idea. Airports are so sterile and stressful that a bit of greenery seems like a step in the right direction. They need someone who appreciates nature on their maintenance staff.

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    1. I wonder if a couple small trees that bring the plantings up would help? You have to actually stop and look down on the area to see it now.

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  3. Even apart from its inaccessibility, the garden's ancient-ruin vibe is so sharply at odds with the sleek, soaring steel and glass surroundings that it's hard to imagine it having much of a fan base. Perversely appealing...

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    1. I rather like it for exactly that contrast.

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  4. I think all big airports should have gardens. Most US airports I've traveled through, especially LAX, are cold, sterile, intimidating places. The Honolulu Airport is a notable exception. I saw another blogger's post on the Singapore Airport, which is utterly incredible. It's hard for me to believe that Denver couldn't figure out a way to make it work without any safety or hugely inconvenient maintenance concerns.

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  5. AnonymousJuly 29, 2019

    I think the concept of this garden is a great idea, but I don't think it achieves its potential. Pull it out? No. Re-Vamp it? Maybe. I realize it's supposed to mimic ancient ruins, but again, it doesn't "get there" for me. Maybe it's the ancient ruins part that needs work? Something that looks more like a stone structure that's worn down. The rocks just look like rocks in my opinion not like the ruins of an old building and the crisp-edged concrete looks very modern.

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    1. I would like to see water reintroduced to the design.

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  6. I think it could use a re-do, it looks like a construction site at present. I like the idea of an indoor garden space... I'm sure there are many designers who could do the site justice.

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    1. I do recall wondering if it was still under construction and was shocked to learn it dated to 1995.

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  7. well I never saw that garden at all, but maybe I wasn't in concourse C-I was in a terminal that was under a ton of construction and it was a mess ! This garden looks really aztec-ish to me. I think it's the grey stonework and jungly green plants.The crevice style stones are much more Colorado but the plants just don't seem cohesive and the rocks don't seem to be supporting any plants. I wonder what the vision is ? If any.

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  8. Barbara H.July 29, 2019

    Looks like I'm in the minority but I count it as a fail on all levels. Even in its lusher days, it did not impress me. Having a garden inside an airport is a lovely idea, but I think it needs to be much more integrated with its site. Maintenance issues should be at the top of the priority list. Oh well, they will figure out what to do with it eventually.

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    1. I appreciate your opinion and yes, it will be interesting to see what happens here.

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  9. I've been through that airport a few times and that is indeed a baffling garden. I always thought it was something in the works and unfinished.

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    1. Baffling, good word Phillip. Hopefully, if you continue to fly through, you'll keep us updated on what (if anything) happens to the space.

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  10. I think it fails as a garden because it wasn't really thought of as a garden, just plants as accessories to an idea. Gardens are allowed to evolve, hardscaping redesigned, and "right plant right place" guidelines used. So many buildings have more successfully incorporated the use of plants indoors in exciting ways. This was intended as sculpture, or art - personally a dreary work to me. I get the commentary on society, but it appears poorly executed. Most sculptures now are required to be installed with a maintenance budget as part of the funding. Denver clearly failed to do this.

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  11. Love the concept. You're right, the water needs to come back. Maybe a huge tree or two to obscure part of the view to make it a bit more mysterious?

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