Type of Project: Garden
Name of Project: Rain Garden, Teachers College
Location: Columbia University, Upper West Side, NY
Use: Institutional, Education
Size: 300 SF
Completion Date: 2010
Designer: Alive Structures
Collaborators: Colin Schumacher, Student/Teacher
Project Description: Teacher's College Student Colin Schumacher (graduated 2011) wanted to make his college more environmentally friendly by incorporating green infrastructure into the campus. He also wanted to introduce an interactive natural environment for his fellow students and the children they worked with. Collaborating with Alive Structures, Colin applied for a grant from the Brita Foundation called "Filter for Good". After receiving the grant, Teachers College provided matching funds to hire Alive Structures to design and install a garden in the courtyard of the school. The garden is a stream bed that stretches from one downspout against the wall of the courtyard to the middle of the courtyard. It is filled with small boulders, stepping stones, and native semi- aquatic plants such as Horsetail and Common Rush. This garden was featured in the New York Times Home and Garden section in 2011.
Photographer: Randy Harris for The New York Times 2011
