Pollinator and Bird Garden Receives High Acclaim

Architizer, the world's largest architecture and design awards program, has announced the winners of the 2024 A+ Awards. Didier Design Studio, a landscape architecture firm based in Fort Collins, Colorado, has been named the Jury Winner in the Sustainable Landscape/Planning category for 2024. This category honors projects that incorporate sustainable systems and materials while adhering to best practices in ethical design, construction, and operation.

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Where the Pollinators Are, by Didier Design Studio
Photo credit: Rob Cardillo

The award-winning project is the "Pollinator and Bird Garden" at The Arboretum at Penn State in State College, Pennsylvania. This project is part of an ongoing research initiative aimed at understanding the decline of pollinator and bird populations globally. Spanning 3.5 acres, the garden was designed with three key objectives. First, to directly convey and interpret the scientific research being conducted on-site. Second, to offer an engaging place for people to learn about pollinator and bird habitats. Third, to inspire visitors to implement urban habitats within their own private gardens. This final goal has the potential to significantly expand healthy ecological networks across already-developed landscapes.

Didier Design Studio assembled a team of design experts and collaborated closely with the research staff at the Center for Pollinator Research at Penn State to bring this project to life. Grounded in years of research, the design approach transformed the level pasture into a diverse set of ecological conditions that support a wide range of plant species. The landscape was sculpted to create a variety of conditions, from swales lined with clay and loamy soils for wet meadows to well-draining aggregate soils for dry conditions. Seven different soil types and pollinator-friendly mulches were integrated to develop new land typologies. The sculpted terrain provides a range of microclimates and conditions across the site. Pathways and trails are carefully choreographed to immerse visitors into the world of pollinators, showcasing diverse ecosystems and habitats.

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Today, the garden brims with life. Where the Pollinators Are, by Didier Design Studio
Photo credit: Rob Cardillo

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The Beehive is a landmark and intimate space. Where the Pollinators Are, by Didier Design Studio
Photo credit: Rob Cardillo

In its first year, the Pollinator and Bird Garden featured 340 hardy plant taxa, 78% of which were native species or selections. The plants were chosen to provide maximum life-cycle support for native insects, especially pollinators, as well as resident and migratory birds in the region. Today, the garden teems with life, inspiring both individual and collective action toward fostering habitats. The Pollinator and Bird Garden was also shortlisted for the 2024 World Landscape Architecture Award and won the American Society of Landscape Architecture Colorado Honor Award in 2022.

About Didier Design Studio

Didier Design Studio is a landscape architecture firm with expertise in all facets of design and planning. The studio crafts artful interventions that are deeply rooted in place, approaching design as a transformative process based on research and collaboration. Their success is measured in terms of cultural relevance, ecological performance, and aesthetic beauty.