any way you could do an install?’ So we began working with Allison Burnett, the director of student wellness.” Allison Burnett oversees the wellness services on campus, including health counselling, accessibility, sexual and gender-based violence support and other aspects related to improving the physical and mental wellness of students. “Back in 2019, we moved into this new space and we had this spot at the top of the stairs that was kind of open and looked out onto the parking lot,” Burnett said. “But it was nice and bright.” So when Phillips’s design team brought their spherical garden back to campus, Burnett asked to have it set up in the open space at the wellness centre. “We got really super feedback about it as the students enjoyed finding time and space in there just to sit and relax, feeling encased in plants,” Burnett said. “It was great, but it was also a temporary thing.” As popular as the sphere was with students, the structure didn't necessarily fit the space technically as well as it could have. “One of the ideas was, ‘Hey, wouldn't it be great if we could do something a little bit more permanent and design something that's architecturally meant to be fit for that space?’” Phillips said. Understanding how soothing the experience could be for stressed students, Burnett took the concept to the Alumni Association, who supported the idea of creating something similar, but custom, and offered funds to develop a more permanent installation at the wellness centre. “We have an amazing alumni group on campus,” Phillips said. “They're always wanting to support students, so I think that idea of being able to do something practical resonated with them.” With funding support in place, conversations around the next iteration of a growroom concept began. Rodger Tschanz, horticulture technician and instructor in the school’s Horticulture program, helped select and produce plants for the space. “We brainstormed plant selection before the structure was even built and had even started growing some of the plants we thought would be suitable in the Bovey greenhouse,” Tschanz said, referring to one of the university’s on-site greenhouses he manages. And then major global events stalled everything. Shortly after the funding was offered in early 2020, not only did the pandemic change the in-person experience at the school, but the war in Ukraine interrupted the supply chain of necessary building materials and supplies. The project was delayed a few years, and the plants that had started growing left the Bovey greenhouse to be maintained elsewhere until the project could restart. “Finally, in 2024, we got the design done,” Phillips said. “We had completed a full 3D scan of the entire area. We went to a very technical level, and every single little bolt and nut was designed. We did a lot of virtual models.” The design was finalized through collaboration with the Alumni Association. “We did some scale models of the structure, as well, to convey the idea of what it was going to look like before we even built it.” THE INTERSECTION OF ART, DESIGN AND HORTICULTURE No longer shaped like the original sphere, the project needed a new name. It was during a consultation with the Alumni Association that inspiration struck. “We had been calling it the growroom,
and then the green space,” Phillips said. “Then someone looked at the design and threw out the nickname ‘Archie.’ I was like, ‘Hey, I think that's not bad.’" Now that it’s installed, Archie gracefully softens the hard angles of a hallway corner. The minimalist style feels modern and airy. Rows of pale wood planks sweep up and over the walkway while multiple shelves create cubbies for potted plants. A curving bench anchors the structure, allowing visitors a chance to rest, reset or recover from daily stressors. Students and faculty alike are often seated there, sometimes tapping away on laptops, listening to headphones or simply watching the play of sunlight on the floor as it passes through the structure. The plants reach for the sun while also greenifying the view of the parking lot beyond. “Archie has become a focal point for the entrance way to this wellness centre. It's a place that staff and visitors gravitate towards in their spare time or in between appointments,” Tschanz said. “The structure is pleasing to look at in its own right; the plants soften the architectural edges and offer an ever-changing view to its visitors. I think this facility is well worth having on campus and will ultimately become a destination for campus tours as it becomes more established.” Burnett shares Tschanz’s enthusiasm. “I knew it was going to be successful. I knew it could have a positive impact,” Burnett said. “People come and sit. You can see it from outside, too, so it's just a nice, architecturally pleasant visual from inside and outside. And then having people like John and Rodger and I having those opportunities to bring like interdisciplines together has been fantastic. When you have these opportunities to work together, it's very meaningful in different ways and can have real positive impacts.” Phillips also commended the experience as an opportunity to bring fine art, design and horticulture disciplines together. Archie also serves as an example of what’s possible when people work together to solve a problem. “Within my design classes, I can use this as an actual place where we can go and talk about the design challenges involved in an atypical room,” Phillips explained, describing it as a journey for both him and the students involved. “Trying to fill the space, trying to look at the balance of the plants with a little bit of a sitting area so that you could take a breather. And then it's just the scope of it — the number of pieces and how you manufacture those things. It is quite advanced to do something like this.” TAKING OWNERSHIP OF CARE A structure like Archie creates the opportunity to bring more greenery to a bland, utilitarian and sun-baked space. The power of plants was noticed early on. “My students were in the lab for about a year before the project began. I had them doing investigations on different hydroponic units, or different plants that could go in,” Phillips said. “A lot of them responded that being able to take care of plants was therapeutic in itself. It was very atypical from the duties we usually do within my design studio.” However, caring for plants was exactly what other students were hoping to do. “Once the structure was installed at the Student Wellness Centre, it was ready for adding the final touches, including the plant installation,” Tschanz said. “A group of students from the campus Horticulture Club reached out to the project and indicated
18 | LANDSCAPE TRADES
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