Botanic Garden (ABQ BioPark)

By Edith Cherry and James See – August 15, 2019

2601 Central Ave. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104

Access:  505 768-2000  |  Botanic Garden

The ABQ BioPark’s Botanic Garden opened in 1996; the site, shared with the facility’s Aquarium, fills 32 acres along the Rio Grande. Plants from the American Southwest and around the world are found in the architecturally striking conservatories and expansive gardens, which are inspired by traditions from Japan to the Mediterranean. Special features include a re-creation of a 1930s farmstead and a medicinal herb garden; lush year-round installations abound along its winding trails.

Completed:  1996

Mediterranean Conservatory / Desert Conservatory

This dynamic all-glass and aluminum-framed structure actually comprises two adjoining solar-powered pavilions: The Desert Conservatory (hot, dry) and the Mediterranean Conservatory (hot, humid). Each must maintain their own plant-appropriate temperature and humidity ranges even in Albuquerque’s cold winters and low humidity. Different types of glazing throughout the structure, carefully placed vents, masonry heat sinks, and appropriate insulation ensure these ranges are maintained with minimal external resources.

Completed:  1998
Architect:  Mazria Riskin Odem, Inc./Ed Mazria 
Contractor:  Bradbury Stamm Construction
Landscape Architect:  Design Workshop

Awards:
New Mexico Architectural Foundation 2019 Architecture + Community Awards

Old World Walled Gardens     

Flowing from one to the next, three installations comprise this area: the warmly tiled “Spanish-Moorish Garden,” which represents a precursor of the courtyard gardens found throughout Latin America and parts of New Mexico; the “Jardin Redondo” (round garden), which focuses on specialty roses; and the “Ceremonial Garden” (shown here), with its arched walkway opening on a flower-filled stage, is often used for weddings and other celebrations.

Completed:  1996
Landscape Architects: Campbell Okuma Perkins Associates, LLC
Landscape Contractors: In-house BioPark Staff

Sasebo Japanese Garden

Sasebo, Japan, is one of Albuquerque’s Sister Cities. This four-acre garden combines plants native to Japan and New Mexico in a carefully planned, yet informal layout that makes the lake, waterfall, and other features seem completely natural. Just inside the gate is a “garden within the garden” created by the Ogata Kai group of landscape architects in 2009.

Completed:  2007
Landscape Architect:  Toru Tanaka/Japanese Garden Specialty LLC
Local Landscape Architect:  Sites Southwest
Landscape Architect for “Garden within the Garden”:  Ogata Kai/Toru Tanaka
Landscape Contractor:  Sasebo Japanese Garden – Bio-Park staff with Toru Tanaka/Japanese Garden Specialty
Landscape Contractor for “Garden within the Garden”:  BioPark staff with Ogata Kai/Shiro Hoshino, Mansaku Kozemi, Ryo Nagai, Hiroshi Ide, Kunio Tachi, and Toru Tanaka

Public Art:
La Curandera y su Jardin (1998; artist: Reynaldo Rivera)

Learn More:
2000  Kriescher, Paul, and Ed Mazria, “The Rio Grande Conservatory.” Solar Today, March/April, page 31.

BioPark Master Site Planners Collaborative Team:
Architectural Research Consultants, Inc.; The Boehning Partnership; Bohannan-Huston, Inc.; Campbell, Okuma, Perkins and Associates, Inc.; Guy R. Johns, Landscape Architects; Sites Southwest; Van H. Gilbert Architect.

BioPark Entry, Plaza, and Aquarium:
Completed:  1996
Landscape Architects:  Campbell Okuma & Perkins with Guy R. Johns
Landscape Contractor:  Albuquerque City Crews
Aquarium Architect:  Van H. Gilbert, Architect, PC
Aquarium Contractor:  Bradbury Stamm Construction

8/15/19