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Conservatory of Flowers

San Francisco, California

Built in 1878 and located in Golden Gate Park , San Francisco 's Conservatory of Flowers is one of North American's oldest public wooden greenhouses. A series of storms forced its closure in December 1995.  This 12,000 square foot, $25 million restoration began in 1999 and the rehabilitation was completed in 2003.  HLB worked with Architectural Resources Group, the San Francisco Bureau of Architecture, and the non-profit group Friends of Recreation and Parks to develop a solution that met three design goals:  illuminate interior pathways for evening use, showcase permanent and temporary interpretive exhibits, and provide new exterior illumination of a favorite San Francisco Landmark.  The need to create minimal visual and physical impact on historic structure and cause no disruption of diurnal cycles while working with a limited budget funded with contributions added additional challenges to the design.