Marble Garden, created in 1955 by world-renowned Bauhaus artist Herbert Bayer at the Aspen Institute campus, is widely considered one of the first examples of landscape as sculpture. Sixty-five years after the original installation of this sculpture, comprised of 21 upright marble slabs set on a 36-foot square marble aggregate concrete base, it is disintegrating and structurally unsound. The landscape architect crafted a rigorous research-based approach grounded in archival research and technical deconstruction to achieve a reconstruction that fulfilled the artist’s aesthetic intent.
Design Workshop convened a diverse team of experts to reconstruct a cultural landscape in peril through historical research, materiality exploration, confirmation of artist intent, paired with a forensic deconstruction, and application of research findings.
Historic Research of Land Art Movement
Mid-century modern landscapes are in danger of deterioration and disinvestment.To successfully steward this sculpture into its next sixty-five years, the landscape architect sought a profound understanding of the artist’s intent in the context of the Land Art Movement at the Aspen Institute Campus.
Collaborating with a local expert art curator, the landscape architect gathered archival materials of Herbert Bayer’s conceptual documentation to understand his intent and its historical significance.
Herbert Bayer saw the possibility of combining pure and planer forms made of stone, water, grass, light, and shadow into a new art form in the landscape. He selected twenty-one local marble stones. These pure geometric shapes were rejected due to their rough edges and imperfections. Then, he arranged them on a 36 x 36-foot concrete base with a 12 x 12-foot square reflecting pool and water jet. His creative process involved the on-site arrangement of the marble pieces, which was never formally documented.
Applied Research Informs Curated Restoration
With a deeper understanding of the sculpture’s background, the landscape architect curated a restoration process that embodied in-depth site assessment and material explorations. A detailed site inventory capturing dimensions, material conditions, and site relationships revealed the significant disrepair of the Marble Garden. The concrete aggregate was cracked and crumbling from years of poor drainage and Aspen’s harsh freeze-thaw cycles. Irrigation overspray and growing biomatter had weathered and discolored the marble. Some pieces leaned due to inadequate structural support. Lastly, historic imagery and videos compared to today’s site exposed its transformation.
Research as Forensic {de}Construction
The landscape architect expanded the team to include a general contractor, stone preservationist, and subcontractors to understand the materials, structure, and construction methods. Together, they executed a careful and inquisitive deconstruction of the sculpture. Labeled marble pieces were meticulously extracted from the base. Stone preservationists tested various techniques to correct the weathering without deteriorating their unique imperfections.
Research as {re}Constructing an Icon
The deconstruction discoveries regarding materiality, source, methods, artistry and construction techniques, enabled the team to preserve the sculpture’s most critical qualities. Stone was restored to its original character. Increased footings, stainless steel dowels, and thickened slabs resolved the stone’s leaning issues. Masons successfully matched the original aggregate. The landscape architect corrected grading and implemented a subsurface drip system to solve drainage issues. In conjunction with these efforts, a video of Bayer explaining his sculpture aided the site’s faithful reconstruction.
The Value of Research
The landscape architect’s curated process saved the Marble Garden. The landscape architect leveraged research conclusions of cultural value, historic significance, construction methods, material characteristics and modern technology to convene and lead a team of experts from research through construction.
Marble Garden – Saving an Iconic Landscape
Location: Aspen, Colorado, USA.
Landscape Architect: Design Workshop Inc. – Aspen, Colorado
Collaborators:
Design Workshop Team
Richard Shaw, FASLA, Margaret Plumb, ASLA Ashley Hejtmanek, ASLA, Chris Perkes, Jessica Perreault, ASLA
Award Graphics: Xinyu Li; Sam Daniel; Moritz Jahn
Structural Engineer: KL&A
Art Curator: Lissa Ballinger, Aspen Institute
Stone Preservationist: Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates
General Contractor: GF Woods Construction
Landscape Contractor/Irrigation: Roaring Fork Landscapes
Aspen Institute Management: Crystal Logan, Katie Carlson, Richard Stettner, Carrie Williams, Jim Hooper
Image Credits: Brandon Huttenlocher/Design Workshop, Inc.
Shortlisted in the 2024 WLA Awards – TCLF Cultural Landscape Award
