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Thailand -- a photo opportunity thanks to Phipps
Bringing the tropics to Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens soon can walk into a lush, jungle-like paradise, with cascading waterfalls, streams, rocks, towering palm trees, the scent of jasmine and numerous wild plants native to Southeast Asia.
Welcome to Pittsburgh's mini-Thailand.
Next weekend, Phipps will open 'Tropical Forest: Thailand,' a $7.5-million, 12,000-square-foot exhibit that is part of the most ambitious expansion project the conservatory has undertaken since it opened in 1893, officials say.
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By Kellie B. Gormly
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, December 2, 2006
Visitors to Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens soon can walk into a lush, jungle-like paradise, with cascading waterfalls, streams, rocks, towering palm trees, the scent of jasmine and numerous wild plants native to Southeast Asia.
Welcome to Pittsburgh's mini-Thailand.
Next weekend, Phipps will open "Tropical Forest: Thailand," a $7.5-million, 12,000-square-foot exhibit that is part of the most ambitious expansion project the conservatory has undertaken since it opened in 1893, officials say.
"It's really a milestone for Phipps; it's the most important thing that has happened to Phipps in 100 years," says Richard V. Piacentini, Phipps executive director. "I hope people will come see it.
"We're really excited about the way it's coming out," he says. "It's just going to be a fun new addition to Phipps."
Phipps officials have been talking about building the Tropical Forest Conservancy for more than a decade, because they wanted to offer visitors something new and different with a real ecosystem.
"It allows for a really in-depth, dynamic look into a tropical region of the world," says spokeswoman Ellen James.
The 60-foot-high, glass-topped Tropical Forest Conservatory -- which visitors can either explore on the ground level or view from an upper walkway with a canopy overlook -- begins with a Thailand theme, but Phipps officials plan to switch to another region every two years. Then, they will replace the Thai plants with a palate of plants native to another tropical forest.
When visitors come to the Tropical Forest, accessed through the South Conservatory, they will be surrounded by palm trees and native Thai plants, including orange jessamine, which is a large shrub with white fragrant flowers, and nong nooch vine and rangoon creeper, which are both climbing vines.
Visitors can sit and absorb the atmosphere on one of the many benches and other seating areas throughout the exhibit.
"It's pretty impressive. It's something," says Norraset Nareedokmai, of Penn Hills. He is a native of Tak province, Thailand, who previewed the exhibit, along with several other Pittsburgh-area Thais.
"When you actually walk into the place, it's like, 'Wow!' " says Nareedokmai. He is the owner of Bangkok Balcony and Silk Elephant restaurants in Squirrel Hill. "It's going to be a good eye-opener for the Pittsburgh community in general."
Permanent exhibit features include the Healer's Hut, which looks just like a hut in the middle of the jungle and will feature plants with medicinal properties used in the region being spotlighted in the forest. In the Researcher's Station, visitors can engage in educational and hands-on activities, such as playing a video game where they can build their own virtual tropical forest. In the Palm Circle, visitors can sit underneath towering palms and watch fish in a flowing stream.
Many of the plants, including the palm trees, came from Florida, where the climate could produce tropical plants, Phipps officials say. The palm trees came fully grown, and re-planting them took a massive effort.
Karen Daubmann, Phipps director of horticulture, and another staff member spent almost three weeks in Thailand last year to prepare for the Tropical Forest. On their journey, they visited ancient temples, floating flower markets, royal gardens, and forests, cities and villages. Daubmann says they discovered that Thai people love their flowers. Plants are sold everywhere in the markets, people take great pride in their gardens and a lot of food comes with flower garnishes.
"It was amazing," says Daubmann, who is trying at Phipps to recreate "the feeling of being in Thailand, and how lush and beautiful everything was."
In Thailand, the Phipps employees also collected numerous pieces of art that will be on display in the Tropical Forest, such as painted masks, pots and traditional Thai spirit houses.
Luck Kosoladolkitt, president of the Thai Association of Pittsburgh, has been working with Phipps officials throughout the project's life. She met with the architect, viewed a miniature version of the Tropical Forest Conservatory and helped arrange the Phipps staff members' trip to Thailand.
"I think it's quite an honor that people in Pittsburgh recognize Thailand, because Thailand is a very small country," says the Upper St. Clair resident and Bangkok native.
Kosoladolkitt says she hopes the "people of Pittsburgh will come and enjoy the rich culture of Thailand throughout the Phipps Conservatory."
The Tropical Forest Conservatory, which uses solar energy and energy-saving features such as a fuel cell system and thermal massing, will make Phipps a top environmentally friendly conservatory, Piacentini says. Half of the roof's surface will be vented, which will allow hot air to escape the interior space. Meanwhile, when the winds move northward from Panther Hollow in Oakland across the Tropical Forest roof, interior air goes up through the opening. Vents along the north and south walls then draw cooler air into the entire exhibit space, which gives visitors the sensation of a tropical breeze.
Energy efficiency was a key consideration in designing and constructing the new exhibit, says architect Joel Bernard, the project's manager with Downtown-based IKM Inc. Traditionally, greenhouse structures use a lot of energy, but the Tropical Forest Conservatory will not need air conditioning, and will need only minimal heat. Although specific calculations are not complete, Bernard says, he expects significant savings in energy costs for Phipps.
"Trying to be the most energy-efficient conservatory in the world -- that is the goal for this Tropical Forest," Bernard says.
The forest marks the end of the second phase of a three-phase, $36.6 million expansion project that began with the opening of the new Welcome Center, also designed by IKM, in March 2005. The Welcome Center phase includes a cafe and an expanded gift shop and ticketing area.
Phase two also includes the production greenhouses, which opened this summer, and a special events room, which opens along with the Tropical Forest and can be booked for private parties. The final phase will include a new research, education and administration building, although Phipps has not set a specific timeline for it.
Kellie B. Gormly can be reached at
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