PFI completes terrace design and installation for TPG Architecture at Irving Place

June 24, 2013 - Green Buildings

Irving Place Capital terrace.

Plant Fantasies Inc. (PFI), a WBE landscape design/build firm founded by president and owner Teresa Carleo 25 years ago, has completed a terrace design and installation project for TPG Architecture at Irving Place Capital located at 745 Fifth Ave. (formerly known as the Squibb building.)
The challenge for PFI was to translate the vision of TPG team led by Ivan Rosa, RA, NCARB, and Mavis Wiggins, IIDA. Inspired by the High Line which integrates plantings with paving along a large-scale, linear, highly textural, exposed space, TPG sought to apply this concept to a 1,000 s/f partially shaded terrace in a way that maximizes the space and draws tenants to the area and its breathtaking views.
Rosa said, "When it came to implementing a new landscaped terrace for Irving Place Capital not only was PFI our preferred installer but they were a true design partner. They listened to our concerns and mitigated any issues in creative ways."
The solution, created by PFI's lead landscape designer Michael Tull and implemented by PFI landscape project manager Mackenzie Sharp, uses pavers with cut-out nooks and plantings that make the greenery appear to grow from the hardscape in an asymmetrical pattern. To evoke the loose, native plantings associated with the High Line also created challenges given the limited palette of suitable shade tolerant plant material. PFI chose fiberglass planters for their weight, longevity, and modern design.
A boxwood hedge runs parallel to and screens the parapet rail, while the walls are softened by trellis panels with climbing hydrangea. The ground plane plantings include hydrangea, ferns, both evergreen and perennial and Japanese forest grass in a delightful play of greens. Additional color is provided through shade tolerant perennials and annuals.
To mirror the dominant interior finishes - white terrazzo floors, architectural metal, reclaimed wood and board form concrete - outdoors, PFI selected white concrete pavers, Ipe decking, and stainless steel wire trellises that encourage green growth upward. The mix of soft, natural-looking plantings with concrete, exotic hardwood flooring, and technical elements creates beauty and interest.
PFI's work covers a broad scope, primarily in Manhattan, ranging from high-end residential gardens, to corporate office terraces and commercial and residential building common spaces, including green roofs. PFI also performs garden and landscape maintenance, as well interior plantscape divisions.
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