botanical garden

Construction plans have been approved in West Bloomfield, MI for an anticipated expansion at Planterra Conservatory. The project expands the botanical garden venue with an outdoor wedding ceremony space, building addition and upgrades to the current glass-enclosed Conservatory building. “We are building a world-class botanical experience,” said Shane Pliska, President of Planterra. The addition includes three iconic archways which echo the existing design of three greenhouses inner connected with curved trusses originally imported by the Pliska family from Belgium in 2009. The regal formal garden at the entry will serve as a pre-function area which opens to the larger courtyard garden designed for wedding ceremonies. Once completed, Planterra events may begin in the outdoor garden and then move into the Conservatory following sunset for a formal reception. Construction is set to begin during the summer of 2019 and will be completed in time to host the first outdoor events by spring 2020. The gardens are designed by Planterra and retired architect, Jim Luckey of the Smith Group is the project’s design consultant. Planterra hired Three Squared, Inc. as the project consultant, for the expertise in using recycled shipping containers as a building material. The shipping containers are being added on the eastside of the Conservatory for hospitality set-up and storage and will match Planterra’s existing metal building as most of the metal walls will be covered with ivy trellises. For Leslie Horn, chief executive officer of Detroit-based Three Squared, Inc., the project is a particularly exciting one. Her team is ...