Design Charette at The Pennsylvania State University

On April 12, Eric Groft and Stacilyn Feldman joined Graham Gund, Laura Cabo and Eric Svahn of Gund Partnership for a design charette at The Pennsylvania State University.  The focus of the charette was to develop a distinct entry sequence for the forthcoming phase of the University Arboretum, and existing Dickinson School of Law, as well as to site the forthcoming structures at the Arboretum, which will include a Planetarium, Education Center and Conservatory.

Nearly twenty members of the Penn State faculty, facilities management and campus design staff attended the meeting, and contributed to the design process.

Laura Cabo directed the afternoon’s discussion and presented several program options and entrance sequences.

Laura Cabo

Everyone attending actively participated in the siting of the project components and worked together meet the program needs.

OvS is delighted to be part of this project team and looks forward to the coming months of collaboration.

During our visit to Penn State, Eliza Pennypacker, professor of Landscape Architecture at The Stuckeman School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, invited OvS Principal Eric Groft to visit the second-year design studios on Friday, April 13^th.   The students’ work for the Spring semester focused on complete site design, from site analysis to siting structures, organizing site circulation, and responding to existing environmental constraints and opportunities.

L-R: Eric Groft and Ben Sereda

Eric spent a morning in the Stuckeman Family Building studios, discussing each student’s project with them, reviewing their concepts, and discussing appropriate plants and species for the intended experience.

L-R: Eric Groft, Eliza Pennypacker and Emma Pritchett

It was a wonderful morning for both the students and Eric – sharing open dialogue about site design and the importance of great plants in the landscape.  Thank you to Professor Pennypacker for the invitation!

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Revisiting South Franklin Circle

The Group from OvS, South Franklin Circle, and Judson Services

In 2005, Oehme, van Sweden (OvS) began a collaboration with GUND Partnership on an 80-acre planned community for adults over age 50. The property, in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, was to be known as South Franklin Circle. Today, the community is thriving – with residents, activities and plant life. On September 20th, OvS Principal Eric Groft was the keynote speaker for the kick-off to the 2011-2012 South Franklin Circle Dialogue Series. Created as a forum to inform and inspire the community, this segment of the dialogue series offered residents of South Franklin Circle insight to the inspiration, design and plant selection of the neighborhood in which they live from the designer himself. Following the presentation, Eric fielded questions from the audience and signed copies of The Artful Garden: Creative Inspiration for Landscape Design. Eric was also able to walk the grounds of South Franklin Circle with Bill Fehrenbach, the Vice President of Project Development at South Franklin Circle and Cynthia Dunn, CEO of Judson Services. All were impressed the growth that the plants experienced since their installation in 2009.

The South Franklin Circle Community

 

A South Franklin Circle Residence

Eric Groft of OvS

Eric Groft & Bill Fehrenbach

Eric Groft at the book signing

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A Visit to the Gund Partnership

Earlier this week, Eric Groft traveled to Boston, Massachussetts to meet with Graham Gund and the Gund Partnership architectural team. Gund Partnership is a nationally recognized architecture and planning firm working with leading institutions across the country to design transformative buildings. Since the firm’s founding in 1971, Gund Partnership has earned more than 100 national and regional awards for design excellence.

The purpose of Eric’s visit to Gund Partnership was to present three schemes for the corporate campus of the Services Credit Union in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. One scheme was preferred and will be developed to be presented later in August to the client.

As part of his visit to Gund Partnership, Eric was invited for a meet and greet with the firm’s marketing team and others on staff to familiarize them with the work of Oehme van Sweden and the philosophy behind our New American Garden style.

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