Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

'Aidan Avocado' has a new 'pit.'

Feb. 5 was a day of firsts for Aidan Moles.

The 2-year-old had spent all of his 946 days of existence that's two birthdays, three Thanksgivings and three Christmases within the groundsof the University of Iowa's Stead Family Children's Hospital in Iowa City, where he had undergone more than 70 COVID-19 tests, 16 operating room visits, 306 radiologic procedures and one long-awaited kidney transplant.

Typical childhood experiences such as trips to the supermarket, outdoor adventures and day care had been replaced by play mats in his room and stroller rides and gait trainer walksthrough the hospital corridors.His only views of the world outside had been what he could see from the hospital's campus.

But on Feb. 5, Aidan ventured out of the hospital and, for the first time in his life, felt the chilly winter air on his cheeks before takinghis firstcar ride, during which he watched the passing landscape from his car seatbefore dozing off to sleep.

About an hour and a half after leaving the hospital, his mother, Aron Donaldson, was finally able to introduce her sonto their Fort Madison home.

"At first, he was a little apprehensive," Donaldson told The Hawk Eye as Aidanpracticed pulling himself up on living room furniture. "He kind of had a little spot in the living room; he didn't venture far from there."

Donaldson had spent the months preceding Aidan's homecoming preparing his nautical-themed bedroom, but due to the toddler's health conditions, the mother and son have set up camp in the living room.

"I'm worried I'm not going to hear everything" if we're in different rooms," Donaldson said.

The living room and the nest of blankets Donaldson had laid out for him theresuitAidan just fine.He is, after all, used to one-room living. He has yet to venture into other parts of his home, thoughhe has been eyeing the kitchen.

"He kind of kept his little nest and, slowly, he just kind of spread his wings and now he's trying to get into everything," Donaldson said with a laugh.

"He's eating my furniture," she said. "He's wanting to go in the kitchen, but he hasn't really gone out of the living room yet, but he is acting like a toddler for sure."

In addition to testing out his new environment, Aidan's favorite pastimes include watching videos "They finally had to limit his screen time," Donaldson said with a laughof the staff at the children's hospital who have become like family to herand Aidan over the past 2 years as well as being read toand playing with toys, especially his avocado guitar.

Donaldson gave Aidan the guitar as a Christmas gift while he was still in the hospital. He loved it so much thatshe and music therapistKirsten Nelson began to come up with a song. Nelson passed it along to children's songwriterAlastair Moock, who polished it up and added to the lyrics to compose "Aidan Avocado."

"It's about Aidan needing a pit, meaning kidney. When Aidan started getting mobile, he alligator-rolled all the time," Donaldson explained. "It's about living on an island in the sea, rolling around and not a care in the world."

When Aidan's medical team threw him a going-away partyearlier this month, Moock appeared via Zoom to play and sing the song for Aidan, but with a twist.

Moock "sang it for him, but he changed the words around a little bit saying, 'Now he has his pit,'" Donaldson said.

Aidan was born seven weeks ahead of schedule, on July 5, 2018, weighing just 4 pounds, 10 ounces. Neither of his kidneys was working, and he was in end-stage renal disease, requiring dialysis at birth.

"He was born with what's called dysplastic kidneys, so the kidneys just didn't work well early on," said Dr. Lyndsay Harshman,director of the hospital's pediatric kidney transplant program.

Aidan's kidneys hadn't formed properly as babies grow in utero, their kidneys help to form the amniotic fluid that helps to form their lungs, "so it's pretty common that babies with neonatal kidney disease also have cardiac and lung issues," Harshman said.

Thatwas true for Aidan. In addition to renal disease, the newborn also suffered from pulmonary hypertension, meaning the blood vessels coming off his heart toward his lungs were constricted to the point they did not allow adequate blood flow and circulation of oxygen, meaning Aidan also needed long-term support from a ventilator and long-term medications to help decrease the pressure in his heart and lungs.

"Aidan is one of the most complicated kids we've had in a while here because of the cardiac concerns and the ventilator requirements and things," Harshman said.

He spent most of the first year of his life in intensive care, on a ventilator and sedated for several months.

Donaldson, who is Aidan's biological grandmother, was there at every turn, spending any time off from her job at International Eyecare with Aidan while working with the Department of Human Services to adopt him after it became clear his biologicalparents were not prepared to care for him.

"I think he needed me, I needed him, and we just had a good bond, and I knew that I just wanted to take care of him," Donaldson said. "He's such a fighter."

Aidan's condition gradually improved to the point where his heart and lung status were better controlled, as was his dialysis. Then it was on to the inpatient floor.

"Once we were able to get him out of the ICU literally after a year of his life and up to the inpatient floors, that's wherehe started to begin to have more developmental progress," Harshman said. "Because when kids are sick their whole first year of life, they forgo those baby milestones, so he had a lot of catching up to do: learning how to roll over, how to sitall of those things."

Once Aidan's medical team felt his heart and lungs were strong and stable enough to undergo a kidney transplant, he was put on the transplant donor list.

The lifesaving kidney came in November from a deceased donor.

Donaldson had been told to expect Aidan to flourish after his transplant, but she was surprised by how quickly his development took off.

"It was within days," Donaldson said. "It was amazing."

Even Aidan's medical team was surprised by Aidan's progress.

"None of us really expected it, and all of us were cautiously concerned that he would have a rocky course post-transplant and he surprised all of us," Harshman said. "After his transplant, it was really just unbelievable. The kid was standing up more in the crib in the ICU after his transplant within days, and we were like, 'Excuse me? Who is this child?'"

Within a week of getting his transplant, his need for a ventilator, which he was still using at night and occasionally during the day, dropped significantly. Within a month, he no longer needed it at all.

Three months later, he was ready to go home.

"When a family is going through such sadness from losing a loved one and they make that decision to donate their loved one's organs or honor that loved one's decision to donate organs, the impact it has can't even be quantified, especially for kids, because they get a chance at life that they wouldn't have had otherwise," Harshman said.

The next six months will be especially critical for Aidan due to the risks that his body might rejecthis new kidney, as well as an increased risk of infection caused by his anti-rejection medications. Harshman hopes his new kidney will last for at least the next 20 years.

"A transplant's not a cure,"she said."It's the bridge to the next transplant."

In the meantime, Donaldson says she's looking forward to warmer weather, so that she and Aidan will be able to enjoy more firsts, including those that can take place only outside, like afirst stroller ride through the park.

You can register to become an organ, eye and tissue donor at the Iowa Donor Network website.

Youalso can mark "yes" authorizing organ donationwhen you get your drivers license renewed or whengetting a hunting, fishing or fur-harvesting license.

By registering, you authorize your organs, eyesand tissues to be donated at the time of your death. If a donated organ, eyeor tissue cannot be used for transplant, an effort will be made to use the donation for research, the website says.

The website saysthe Iowa organ waiting list as of Dec. 1 had485 Iowansawaiting kidneys;heart, 24; lungs, 10; liver, 40; andkidney/pancreas, 6.

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Fort Madison toddler was hospitalized the first 946 days of his life. Then a kidney transplant opened his world. - Burlington Hawk Eye

Spencer Durham|The Daily Telegram

ADRIAN A 2,500-square-foot addition to the Salvation Army's thrift store in Adrian will allow for all donations to be stored safely inside.

Construction began late last summer on a storage and receiving facility. It is attached to the back of the thrift store. The space allows for storing and sorting donations. There's also enough room for the Salvation Army to keep its emergency disaster vehicle inside, safe from the elements.

Salvation Army staff, the Adrian Area Chamber of Commerce and community members were on hand Wednesday morning for a brief dedication ceremony.

"We have been eagerly awaiting this property," said Capt. Jacob Tripp.

Tripp and his wife, Melinda, lead the local Salvation Army, acting as both pastors and administrators. They started this past July.

Additional space had been discussed for years. Longtime volunteers remember when they first heard about the idea years ago.

Tripp said they finally received enough community support and funding to build the $750,000 addition.

"In the long run, it's going to change how the store can operate," he said.

The addition comes at a good time. Despite thrift store sales being down, donations have remained steady. The Salvation Army is now accepting furniture, which will require more space.

The organization is already making use of its new addition, storing bales of clothes. Gone are the days of bales of clothes wrapped in blue tarps were stored outside. This would inevitably lead to some clothes being ruined.

"We can make sure everything can be saved," Tripp said. "This space is really going to help us."

The organization has a machine that packs clothes not sold in the store into large bales. These are then sold to other organizations and developing countries. A semitruck load can fetch $12,000.

"We have been selling good products on the floor and back here," said Tim Schroeder, store consultant.

More storage space for more donations means more revenue for the Salvation Army.

"This is a way to help us do what we do and help us do more in the community," Tripp said.

Donations can be made between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.Monday through Friday at the thrift store, 247 W. Church St., Adrian.

The store accepts a wide range of items, including clothes, belts, furniture and hats. Items must still be useable.

For more information, call 517-263-3650.

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Adrian Salvation Army adds storage space to thrift store - The Daily Telegram

Editors note: This article has been updated to reflect the correct date of this event

Set to take place virtually through the Chamberlain Student Center Game Room, Rowan University will be hosting its second annual Extra Life Gaming Marathon Saturday, March 20.

A collaboration between the Rowan Gaming Club and the Rowan Honors Extra Life Organization, this virtual event will strive to bring the Rowan community together, in an effort to raise money for local branches of the Childrens Miracle Network Hospitals.

Due to COVID-19 safety precautions and limitations, the event will go on for eight hours this year, rather than the usual 24.

The virtual event will be livestreamed through Twitch, an interactive platform designed for the live viewing and broadcasting of video games. In the days leading up to the gaming marathon, as well as throughout the night of the event, students will be able to interact with the Game Room, ask questions and view the events full itinerary through their Discord link.

Links to both the Twitch and Discord will be provided to students through the events ProfLink page. Ambre McKenna, the assistant director of service areas and inclusion initiatives, discussed how students can get involved.

There are a variety of ways that if individuals are interested in playing, that they can reach out and be featured on our stream For example, well be doing a Jackbox Party-Pack hour, she said. Well have Jackbox playing, so, really, you dont have to be in person to play. Individuals can play virtually with us, if they want to.

The Gaming Club will also be hosting their signature tournament of intensive Chutes and Ladders, in addition to a number of other gaming classics throughout the night. From Call of Duty to Tetris, this event is dedicated to providing all students with a variety of gaming choices, regardless of your previous experience or gaming skill.

McKenna hopes to emphasize how passionately Rowan feels for the Extra Life Organization, as well as her excitement toward the Rowan communitys opportunity to once again take part in this charitable event.

Now more than ever I think our charitable organizations need our support, McKenna said. It was important to us not to give up this opportunity to support them, even though we recognize that it is more challenging in this environment. Certainly, more than ever, children need additional resources so we want to do what we can.

The Extra Life Organization has worked diligently to raise money for ill and injured children since 2008, raising over $70 million worldwide in the last 13 years. During last years marathon, Rowan was able to raise over $4,000 in donations, an achievement that has brought hope and confidence for this years donation goal of $2,500.

Last year was inspiring when we set our goal, we set a goal of $3,000, and not only did we meet that, but to exceed it by almost $1,500 was incredible. So, to know that we could have that impact just made us want to work even harder this year, McKenna said.

For those looking to donate during the event, all donations can be made online through the universitys official Extra Life donation link, which will also be available through the events ProfLink page.

For comments/questions about this story, email features@thewhitonline.com or tweet @TheWhitOnline.

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Game Room and Gaming Club Partner in Hosting Their Second Annual Extra Life Gaming Marathon - The Whit Online

[co-author: Joanne Saint Louis, Diversity Program Manager]

A podcast from JAMS in celebration of Black History Month, featuring diversity program manager Joanne Saint Louis, and neutrals Otis McGee and Rebekah Ratliff.

In this new podcast from JAMS, neutrals Otis McGee and Rebekah Ratliff and diversity program manager Joanne Saint Louis discuss why increasing diversity in ADR is critical for legal and business communities and the steps JAMS is taking to ensure its own panel is representative of the attorneys and clients that use its ADR services. Otis and Rebekah then discuss the important role diverse neutrals play in ADR and how ADR increases access to justice.

Moderator: [00:00:00] Welcome to this JAMS podcast, where we are celebrating Black History Month with a conversation around diversity in the field of alternative dispute resolution and access to justice. Our guests are three JAMS professionals: Rebekah Ratliff, a former commercial insurance claims professional; now mediator, arbitrator and neutral case analyst specializing in complex insurance disputes based in Atlanta; Otis McGee, a former trial lawyer, who's now an arbitrator, mediator and special master based in San Francisco; and Joanne Saint Louis, a diversity program manager based in Atlanta.

Thank you all so much for your time. Joanne, let me start with you. How would you characterize the progress that the field of ADR has made in bringing more diversity to its ranks in recent years?

Joanne Saint Louis: [00:01:00] I would say if I had to choose one word to characterize that I would say "evident." We are definitely seeing progress made, but it is not enough.

We have seen throughout the years, there have been several initiatives, as well as discussions, that have been made to be able to help increase diversity within the law firms. And we still are not where we need to be within the legal profession, which then makes it even harder to achieve the diversity that we want to see within the dispute resolution. So yes, we've made progress, but we still have a long ways to go.

Moderator: [00:01:30] Okay. And then let's just spell out why is it so crucial to build a diverse pipeline of ADR professionals?

Joanne Saint Louis: [00:01:37] Well, it's definitely important to build a diverse pipeline as well as panels in ADR, because you want the ADR community to represent the population of which we serve. So it's very important that the demographics that we have within the professionals that are handling these cases, as well as neutrals that are overseeing these matters, represent the clients which they serve. I will definitely say that it's important to plant the seed, it's important to have diverse practices that are handling these cases. At some point, these practitioners will become the neutrals that are placed on different panels overseeing these matters, so it's important to make sure that we're continuing the discussion.

I will also say, it's not just important to see it in the practice area. We need to make sure that we're taking a multifaceted approach in how we discuss diversity in ADR. It's not just to see it on the practice area level. We also need to have these discussions with the clients, the in-house counsel, the outside counsel. These are the individuals that are selecting diverse neutrals. So, it's really important to give them the tools that they need and to really educate them on the importance of the selection process and making sure that we have diverse neutrals that are seated, overseeing these cases.

Moderator: [00:02:48] And I know JAMS is involved in building that pipeline. Can you talk a little bit about what the organization has been up to?

Joanne Saint Louis: [00:02:54] Absolutely. We have, as we discussed, a multi-faceted approach that we are taking on, we have initiatives that we've created, we have created different programs in which that we work with organizations and affinity groups to be able to create that pipeline and plant that seed of the practice of ADR; but also making sure that we're giving them the tools that they need to be successful in this space as well.

The other thing that we're looking to do is to create a fellowship program that will assist with the pipeline and making sure that they get the mentorship and sponsorship that they need in order to be fruitful. Also, we have an outreach committee within our diversity committee that is working with outside counsel and discussing with them initiatives that they have to their disposal, to be able to see an increase of utilization of diverse neutrals.

We have what we call here at JAMS, we've created the Inclusion Clause. Within the Inclusion Clause, we have verbiage that you can place within your contract that states that when you have an arbitration case, that you will consider utilizing a diverse neutral. You also have other initiatives that we really like to educate outside counsel and in-house counsel on, which is the ABA Resolution 105 , which also assists with seeing the increase of the selection process.

Now we always say, if you build it, they will come. Yes, as an arbitral institution, we can always increase diversity within our panel, but it's really important to see them get selected, and that creates the inclusion and the equity aspect that's definitely needed, and we need to be able to see within diversity in ADR.

Moderator: [00:04:21] Well thank you, Joanne. And Rebekah, can you talk about your experience in the ADR field? How did you get involved? And did you perceive any structural barriers?

Rebekah Ratliff: [00:04:29] Yes, my background is in insurance. I am a former commercial complex claims professional of 25 years, almost all 50 states and internationally in a bunch of subject matter areas.

So I handled, as an adjuster, cases in medical malpractice, products liability, auto, trucking, almost anything personal injury, commercial premises liability. So I have experience again in a variety of subject matter areas. But even with that, the structural barriers that I experienced were embedded in the insurance industry. Thirty years ago, there were very few people who looked like me in the commercial claim space.

And so I worked through a lot of microaggressions, and again, we know that microaggressions are generally based on unconscious bias in our industries, and really there's an intersectionality with regard to unconscious bias or implicit bias. But that was just the reality, and you keep your head down and you do your work, and you achieve success in the industry by showing rather than reacting. And so a mentor told me that I was living beneath my skillsets a few years ago and that I should consider mediation given my expertise in case evaluation and negotiation. And so I considered that as an option. And that's the way I got into ADR. I understand dispute resolution from the perspective of the payer, which makes me an effective dispute resolution professional.

Moderator: [00:05:53] Thank you, Rebekah. Otis, can you talk about how your career led you to ADR?

Otis McGee: [00:05:57] Over the 40 plus years that I served as a litigator and trial attorney, I was involved in any number of ADR procedures, mediations, in particular with JAMS. And during a lull in one of those mediations, the person who was serving as a mediator suggested that with my background, as a trial attorney, I might want to consider moving into ADR at some point in my career. So I began looking at potential opportunities 10 or 15 years ago, and gradually as my career as a trial attorney was reaching the point that I was thinking about hanging up on my spurs, I decided to look into ADR and came to JAMS a year and a half or so ago.

Moderator: [00:06:46] And, Otis, what do you think has helped spur on more diversity in the ADR profession?

Otis McGee: [00:06:50] Without a doubt, one of the significant matters that gave rise to a sensitivity to the need for having more diverse panels by ADR providers was the Jay Z litigation. Jay Z,being a rapper - very well-known, very prominent - who had a business of clothing and was in a $200 million dispute with a company that was involved in the production of his clothing line. And when the dispute arose, the company demanded that this dispute be resolved with binding arbitration being provided by one of our competitors, and Jay Z resisted a continuing in the arbitration because that provider only had three minorities, three arbitrators of color, on its panel to handle complex, high exposure, commercial matters. And one of those three had a conflict, so Jay Z refused to go through with that arbitration until that provider came up with a more significant and diverse panel of prospective arbitrators that he could choose from. Jay Z's words were "there's nobody on this panel that looks like me and I don't feel comfortable arbitrating this $200 million dispute with folks that don't look anything like me." So that was in 2018, a case that I think sent shivers, if not a shockwave through the arbitration community of the need to more significantly diversify their panel.

Moderator: [00:08:31] So a case that really brought home the importance of diversity in the ADR professional

Otis McGee: [00:08:36] The diversity in ADR brings to the table, brings to the forefront, individuals who look like the parties in litigation. And as well as the users of litigation, they bring individuals before it, to the table, that can add some degree of comfort to individuals who are going through the process because they want to, many individuals want to see somebody in the room, particularly someone who's involved in a significant aspect of the proceeding who looks like them, who has an appreciation for what they've been going through.

Moderator: [00:09:17] Rebekah, what do you think can be done to increase the visibility of diverse ADR professionals?

Rebekah Ratliff: [00:09:22] Affinity relationships in ADR are a great way to give visibility to diverse neutrals, and Joanne mentioned Resolution 105 -- that's an effort in the American Bar Association, but also the national bar association has a certified list of mediators and arbitrators that are National Bar Association trained. And, so, if every entity is doing their part, then the visibility of diverse neutrals increase.

Moderator: [00:09:50] Otis and Rebekah, as Black ADR professionals, can you both talk about the value of bringing your authentic self to each dispute you handled. Rebekah, I'll start with you.

Rebekah Ratliff: [00:10:00] Trust, we know, is an essential pillar of mediation. And, so, it's important for every mediator to bring their authentic self to mediation, arbitration. That is the only way that you can really relate to the people in the room, and my philosophy has always been, everybody else is already taken, might as well be myself, and I bring my humanness to the room. And the patience that is needed in a hearing is one way to establish trust, in addition to maybe paying a compliment or just establishing something in common.

It's important to understand, and I handled, again, civil tort cases. So, it's important to understand the human condition and be discerning about what people really mean. Sometimes, people don't say what they really mean. They are not able to articulate it sometimes for various reasons. Sometimes emotions are high, so it's important for me to use the skills that I have authentically in order to enable them. And I say all the time, I'm the daughter of a pastor and a nurse, I have a psychology degree, and I was a claims adjuster for 25 years. And so my background demonstrates that I care about people.

Moderator: [00:11:05] And, Otis, what about you? How do you talk about the value of bringing your authentic self to the disputes that you handle?

Otis McGee: [00:11:11] Well, I think that's one of the values that we as diverse neutrals bring to specific situations. We often will read facts and read situations differently based on life experiences that we've each endured.

And if I can give you an example related to a mediation that I handled fairly recently, it was an employment dispute that arose from the termination of a long-term employee by the owner of the company who was an elderly African-American woman, a very accomplished woman, who was very proud of her achievements and the support that she provided in the form of scholarships, for example, to the members of the minority community. And she had heard from other employees that one of her long-term employees, the plaintiff in this action, had been saying things that were detrimental to the company, detrimental to her as the owner, and spreading rumors that the owner of the company hadn't been doing, as donors were expecting in terms of the handling of donations for scholarships. So the owner of the company, this elderly woman, terminated the employee and following some very contentious litigation, the company prevailed in the litigation. Thereafter, the owner of the company sued the former employee for malicious prosecution and the employee turned around and filed a anti SLAPP action against the owner of the company. So, there was all this litigation taking place. All of it was being funded by the parties. There was no insurance involved. So the owner of the company, as well as this former employee has spent all of this money in a fight with each other. When I got the mediation, I had a pre-mediation meeting with the parties, and I learned during that pre-mediation meeting that neither side had ever sat down with the other to find out what their particular story was.

So I did something unusual in that case, and that was to get the attorneys to agree that I could talk to the parties without having the attorneys present. And in the course of doing so, I learned that everything that led to the termination was information that the owner of the company had received secondhand. None of it was information that she had any firsthand knowledge about . And as a result of sorting through the issues that gave rise to this termination, I was able to get the parties to agree, to dismiss the matter for a waiver of costs as to each claim, and they left the arbitration shaking hands and making friends again, as they had been during the long term of the employment relationship between the two of them.

So I think I read that situation differently than others. Basically, it was kind of a, he- said- she said spat and we were able to get it resolved with a waiver of costs.

Moderator: [00:14:24] And also just additionally, how do you leverage, Otis, language and culture to help parties find resolution? In addition to being able to read the room?

Otis McGee: [00:14:32] Well, being able to pick up on nuances, with being able to pick up on jargon and different language that you won't necessarily find when you pick up Webster's dictionary, you won't find out how terms are being used, but they are sometimes occasionally used some vernacular between the parties and it's helpful to be able to understand the meaning of that terminology and different mannerisms of parties that don't become apparent. It's not something that you necessarily picked up in law school or in the course of a litigation practice over the years.

Moderator: [00:15:11] And, Rebekah, how do you go about building trust in the ADR process with frankly, some people who have generally viewed our justice system with skepticism and cynicism?

Rebekah Ratliff: [00:15:20] The ADR process is just that, it's a process. And so, you have to use patience and active listening skills. In order to determine what the interests are in the room. And sometimes as I mentioned a little earlier, finding a common thread without self-disclosure, because people, when they're telling you their problems, they don't want to hear about yours. They don't want you to tell them yours too. And so it's important to listen and to understand what really the interests are, and also be creative in crafting ways to convey accurate messaging to the other room.

But you can express a desire to understand. What happens in our community, what we know is, litigation is not a trusted process. ADR mitigates the inequality in the litigation system. It's less stress, it's less cost, less time. And so one of the things that we have to do is educate our communities about the benefits of resolving cases and moving on with their lives in ADR, or at least mediation you control the outcome. Mediation is self determining, and what better way to be heard and make your own decisions about what resolution looks like. And arbitration, it's not as formal as trial and you can present your information in a less intimidating situation than trial. And so it really, I think, comes down to education.

Moderator: [00:16:42] And, Otis, how do you see the benefits of ADR?

Otis McGee: [00:16:45] ADR can bring a number of things to the forefront. One is certainty. By going to an ADR organization, parties can select the individuals who are going to be the decision-makers in their cases. They can do so in a more expeditious fashion because the court says everybody's recognized. Particularly with COVID, you can't get cases resolved as quickly and expeditiously as you can through the ADR process. You can't do so in the court system with any expectation that a particular person is going to be the decision-maker on the case, whereas you can do that in the ADR process. So the certainty, the expeditious nature of it, because of the calendars and availability of neutrals in an ADR organization, may be much more predictable than they are in the court system, which is now getting a tremendous backlog of matters having, in large part, been impacted upon by COVID for the last year.

Moderator: [00:17:54] What makes you hopeful that ADR can continue to live up to its promise to bring more access to justice? Rebekah?

Rebekah Ratliff: [00:18:01] Otis just said it, as a matter of fact, I was thinking it as he was saying it. COVID-19 has forced us into the option of ADR. It's a good thing for us, and it's unfortunate that people are in dispute, but since they are, and there's inaccessibility to the court system. Disputes will continue to arise from issues derivative of COVID 19 and what I call the overlapping pandemics- world-wide epidemics like the housing crisis and weather events, the economic downturn, civil unrest. There are different issues that will give rise to ADR cases, and we will facilitate those compromises.

Moderator: [00:18:37] And, Otis, are you hopeful that ADR can bring more justice to more people?

Otis McGee: [00:18:42] I absolutely do, I believe that's the case. And I think that among the things that we as ADR neutrals have learned over the course of the last year was the efficiencies that can be gained by the use of the virtual process. I mean, for the last year, the vast share of the work that I've done, both in mediations and in arbitrations has been in a virtual mechanism. And aware as I had reservations and many clients had reservations early on in this process, as we've become more and more familiar with Zoom and other technologies, we've found that it's a mechanism that even when we return to a more normal workplace, I think we fully expect to use those virtual technologies, because they are so efficient and in many respects, economical that we intend to continue using them. I handled a very large arbitration that went on for over a month with witnesses and parties all over the country, and we were able to handle that in a very efficient manner by doing so in Zoom, and I certainly intend to continue using that process when we return to a normal workplace.

Moderator: [00:20:02] The return to normal, that's a hopeful way to end this. Thank you, both Rebekah and Otis. And thank you, Joanne, for a great conversation.

You've been listening to a special podcast from JAMS, the world largest private alternative dispute resolution provider. Our guests have been: Rebekah Ratliff, mediator, arbitrator, and neutral case analyst specializing in complex insurance disputes based in Atlanta; Otis McGee, arbitrator, mediator, and special master based in San Francisco; and Joanne Saint Louis, diversity program manager based in Atlanta.

Thank you for listening to this podcast from JAMS.

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[PODCAST] Diversity in ADR and Creating Access to Justice - JD Supra

Kelly Byer|The Repository

There's no storefront for Outlaw Burger. No dining room for Monster Mac. No servers at Crave Burger.

The menu items for all three restaurants are made in the kitchen of Crave in downtown Akron. The upscale eatery partners with Nextbite, a company with a dozen delivery-only brands, in a setup commonly referred to as a virtual or ghost kitchen.

"None of these brands have an actual brick-and-mortar," Crave's General Manager Jeff Kucko said.

The business models and terms might differ from one place to the next, but the common thread is a restaurant without a physical location and a menu designed for delivery through third-party apps,such as DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats.

Some restaurants have partnered with delivery-focused companies to serve their virtual brands, other restaurants are working with brands developed by their parent companies, and then there are commercial or shared kitchen spaces available for restaurants to rent.

Crave's arrangement keeps Nextbite's more "affordable" brands one of which coincidentally included the name "Crave" separate while keeping existing kitchen staff busy and rotating food, thereby making it fresher for customers. Crave also makes 45% to 50% of the profits.

"We did this to hopefully tap into some of the University of Akron market, the younger people especially," he said.

Before the pandemic, the "destination restaurant" catered to workers out for lunch on weekdays and event-goers on weekends. Kucko said Crave now is considering its own secondary brand to meet the demand for a variety of local options with the convenience of delivery.

In the nearly two months Crave has worked with Nextbite, delivery orders have accounted for about 7% to 10% of sales. Kucko said that amounts to about 4% of the restaurant's profit each month.

"This keeps a little more money coming in," he said.

The delivery-only concept is not new but experienced a boost in popularity as customers shifted to delivery over dine-in this past year. Virtual restaurant companies such as Nextbite and Reef Kitchens expanded their locations and brands.

Nextbite reported an increase from three virtual brands to 12 and from a few markets to sites in 40 states this past year. Reef, which calls its sites "neighborhood kitchens," added partnerships with Nathan's Famous and BurgerFi to its offerings in 2020.

Virtual Dining Concepts (VDC) is another growing venture founded in 2019 by Robert Earl, chairman of Earl Enterprises the parent company of Bravo Italian Kitchen and several other traditional restaurants. VDC's delivery-only Wing Squad, MrBeast Burger and Mariah's Cookies operate from the Belden Village location.

The virtual company, which already has a series of celebrity brands, also is in the midst of a nationwide soft launch for Guy Fieri's Flavortown Kitchen, according to a company spokesperson.

It was among this month's new local offerings on the DoorDash delivery app, which also featured Tender Shack (connected to Carrabbas Italian Grill parent company Bloomin' Brands Inc.), Conviction Chicken (connected to TGI Friday's parent company) and The Burger Den (connected to Denny's).

Chuck E. Cheese and its secondary brand for delivery made news last spring and drew social media attention to the practice when a customer shared the realization that Pasqually's Pizza and Wings was not a new, local option.

Brian Bailey, president and CEO of the Ichor Restaurant Group, said virtual brands are more than a name change.

"It's new food," he said. "It's different offerings."

Bailey started Street Craft, a modern Mexican restaurant, in early 2019 "out of the back" of an Old Carolina Barbecue Co. A small, secondary kitchen already existed to serve 1899 Indoor Golf, and he thought the restaurant's smoked meats wouldbe suited totacos.

"It didn't take off," he said.

Virtual kitchens and delivery appswere more popular in big cities.Bailey saiddelivery drivers would be confused when they arrived at Old Carolina and some customers became upset when they saw food online not available for pickup.

That operation ended about a month before the pandemic hit. Then the state shuttered restaurant dining rooms as part of its response to COVID-19 and takeout or delivery were the only options.

The Ichor Restaurant Group tried again in early May with PJ's Legendary Hot Chicken, which began out of Smokethe Burger Joint in Jackson Township. It has since expanded to Old Carolina restaurants in Rocky River and Strongsville.

Bailey said he refers to PJ's as a "ghost kitchen" or part of the "food court in the sky."

"I don't think the industry has settled on any one term," he said.

The model for PJ's involves large signs for delivery drivers and food that can be ordered via delivery apps for pickup or from a separate menu at Smoke and Old Carolina. The kitchen staff use available ingredients, with the addition of mac 'n cheese and "authentic Nashville" oil for the chicken, and existing equipment, with the addition of a few tabletop warmers, for the new menu items.

Bailey said PJ's sales have increased the restaurant group's revenue by 10%.

The Ichor Restaurant Group plans to launch its second ghost kitchen, Shmack 'n Cheese, by the end of March.

"And another one could be coming soon after," Bailey said.

Shmack's gourmet mac 'n cheese bowls will build upon the side dish from PJ's with burger toppings, such as bacon and vegetables. Bailey said potential menu items might include tomato-basil-mozzarella bowls, Mediterranean bowls and Nashville hot chicken bowls.

The Ichor group also is investing in new online ordering technology. Bailey expects restaurants to build smaller dining rooms in the future and focus on "ease of pickup" instead.

Kuko predicted that Crave's delivery-only options also would continue well into the future. He expects delivery orders to decrease when the pandemic subsides but still be stronger than before.

"I think there's been innovation and evolution with things, and I think customer habits have kind of evolved to that," he said.

Julie Carpinelli, associate manager of the Tri-County Restaurant Association that serves Stark, Carroll and Tuscarawas counties, said she had little knowledge or involvement in virtual endeavors by members but supports anything that aids area restaurants.

"I like the creativity," she said. "I like that they're trying to survive in a really difficult world right now for restaurateurs."

Virtual kitchens and corresponding restaurants

See more here:
New to the menu during COVID-19: Virtual eateries - Akron Beacon Journal

If you are all out of salt right now, you might have given up. We wouldn't blame you.

We checked several Cincinnati Home Depot, Lowe's and Ace Hardware stores on Tuesday, and all were sold out. You can use kitchen salt or vinegar for some at-home defrosting, as we demonstrated on Monday, but that will only cover a step or two.

But we found some unlikely places that may still have ice melt for sale.

Check swimming pool stores

Chris Schwitzer, store manager of Eastgate Pools and Spa on old SR-74 in Eastgate, has a better tip: Try swimming pool salt.

"It does seem to work," he said.

On Wednesday morning, Schwitzer's store still had plenty of bags of pool salt, which is just ground differently than driveway salt.

"It's a more granulated salt then rock salt, so it is a finer powder," he explained, meaning it can be tougher to spread.

Other pool supply shops in the region should have good supplies of pool salt as well.

Farm, landscape, mower stores

You might also check with farm supply and landscape stores.

On Cincinnati's East Side, Evans Landscaping in Newtown still had both bagged and bulk rock salt.

Also check Neff Landscape and Garden Center in Batavia, which posted that they still have salt.

On Cincinnati's West Side, Klei Mower on Colerain Avenue posts on their Facebook page when they get salt shipments in.

They just received a shipment Tuesday afternoon.

In Kentucky, Mullins Supply Barn in Crittenden told us Tuesday they had buckets of salt for sale. They also post salt updates on their Facebook page.

Some locally- owned hardware still have salt, so check around. Cliff Hardware in Sharonville had good supplies as of Wednesday.

Note that any of the places listed here could run out at any time, so check their Facebook page, call or email before you make a 20-minute drive.

Or you can just hope to get lucky, as Gary Dent did.

His son called to say Speedway in Mt. Carmel had just received a shipment of bags late Tuesday.

"He says, 'Dad you won't believe it. Speedway's got ice melt!' So I came here to get a bag," a thrilled Dent told us.

These days, finding a pile of salt bags is almost enough to make you cry.

If you know of other stores with plentiful supplies, send us an email so you don't waste your money.

__________________________________

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Where you can still find salt in the Tri-State - WCPO

KENNETT SQUARE, PA Longwood Gardens recently unveiled plans for a sweeping yet deeply sensitive transformation of its core area of conservatory gardens, in the most ambitious revitalization in a century of Americas greatest center for horticultural display. Adding new plantings and buildings across 17 acres, Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experiencewill expand the public spaces of the renowned central grounds and connect them from east to west, offering a newly unified but continually varied journey from lush formal gardens to views over the open meadows of Pennsylvanias Brandywine Valley.

The project originates from a master plan developed in 2010 by West 8 Urban Design & Landscape Architecture with WEISS/MANFREDI Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism. Longwood has continued working with WEISS/MANFREDI as lead designer, in collaboration with Reed Hilderbrand, onLongwood Reimagined, which continues the institutions distinguished history of commissioning and collecting outstanding garden designs and glasshouses. The project will be managed by Bancroft Construction Company, based in Wilmington, Delaware.

In keeping with Longwoods tradition of blending fountain gardens and horticultural display, the centerpiece and largest single element ofLongwood Reimaginedis the creation of a new 32,000-square-foot glasshouse, designed by WEISS/MANFREDI, with gardens and pools designed by Reed Hilderbrand. This new West Conservatory with its asymmetrical, crystalline peaks seems to float on a pool of water, while the garden inside, inspired by the wild and cultivated landscapes of the Mediterranean, is conceived as seasonally changing islands set amid pools, canals, and low fountains. In the tapestry-like garden design, iconic plants of this ecology such as aloes, laurels, blueblossom, and Greek horehound hug the ground, with higher plants such as cypress and 100-year-old olive trees rising up into the soaring space while other plantings are suspended from above. Building on the great 19th-century tradition of glasshouses through new sustainable technologies, the West Conservatory is a living, breathing building, with earth tubes and operable glass walls and roof that allow the interior garden to thrive.

Longwoods Cascade Garden, the only design in North America by the great Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx, is being relocated in its totality to an all-new, 3,800-square-foot glasshouse of its own, a jewel box where the tropical plantings will be preserved and can thrive at the heart of the conservatory ensemble. A new outdoor Bonsai Courtyard, built alongside the West Conservatory, will exhibit one of the most outstanding collections of bonsai in the country. Wood walls and hedges will create an intimate, gallery-like space with bonsai displayed on free-standing pedestals and on ledges mounted to walls. Carved into the topography that faces the Main Fountain Garden, a new public restaurant and private event space with a series of vaults reveals the spectacular fountain displays. Above the restaurant and event space, the landscaping of a new South Terrace and South Walk provides a shady promenade extending along the existing and new conservatories to a new West Terrace, where the landform echoes the arc of a stand of hundred-year-old plane trees and frames views out toward the Brandywines meadows.

Other elements of the $250 millionLongwood Reimaginedproject include construction of a new education and administration building with a state-of-the-art library and classrooms; renewal of the beloved Waterlily Court designed by Sir Peter Shepheard (1913-2002); and preservation of six historic Lord & Burnham glasshouses from the early 20th century, to be relocated at a later date and used for year-round garden displays. As part of the initial phase of transforming the area, Longwoods beloved century-old Orchid and Banana Houses will close on March 1 for preservation and will re-open in time for Longwoods 2021 year-end holiday display.

Paul B. Redman, President and CEO of Longwood Gardens, said: In the tradition of our founder Pierre S. du Pont, who transformed a rural arboretum into one of the worlds most beautiful places for horticultural display, Longwood Gardens has been growing and evolving for more than half a century from a private estate into an inviting center for public enjoyment. Each generation of Longwoods stewards has both preserved and renewed the Gardens, commissioning the eras leading landscape designers and architects to add to the grounds. Over time, Longwood has assembled one of the worlds most important collections of garden designs and glasshouses. With the assistance of the brilliant team of WEISS/MANFREDI and Reed Hilderbrand,Longwood Reimaginedwill be the largest undertaking in our history, enhancing the dazzling and deeply satisfying Longwood Gardens that will continue to enthrall our public for decades to come.

Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi, founders and principals of WEISS/MANFREDI, said: Were inspired by the sense of discovery and invention that are signatures of Longwood Gardens. We conceived of the design as a cinematic journey, a sequence of experiences that range from intimate to grand. The West Conservatory, with its pleated crystalline ridge, appears to float on water and is magically reflected by day and night. The vaults of the new restaurant and event space are carved into the hillside to reveal views of the Main Fountain Garden. A new arcade frames the historic Waterlily Court, and the great Cascade Garden is sheltered in a custom-designed glasshouse. These transformations extend the DNA of Longwood Gardens through the creation of new settings for public enjoyment and delight.

Douglas Reed, partner and principal of Reed Hilderbrand, said: We felt our first responsibility in reimagining this expansive area of the grounds was to give expression and identity to the idea in the master plan to extend the conservatory complex along the high ridge. We drew inspiration from existing features of Longwoods landscape, among them tree-lined walks. The expansion scheme structures trees to define space and direct movement, recognizing Longwoods origins as an arboretum. Above all, we felt this ambitious project must retain the character and warmth associated with Longwoods origin as an arboretum and country estate.

A multitude of subtle and imaginative architectural elements link the components across all 17 acres of the project site. The graceful curvature of the steel tree-branch columns of the West Conservatory enables them to be slender while bearing their load. At its highest point, the roof of the West Conservatory matches that of the Main Conservatory, reinforcing the connections across the site. At the same time, the West Conservatorys roofline surprisingly dips and rises again in a catenary, carrying WEISS/MANFREDIs sense of gentle, organic processes into the architectural forms. Within the new restaurant and event space, trellis-like ceiling vaults and arches echo the forms of the Main Fountain Garden and further reveal connections between the architecture and garden. This theme is extended to reimagining the Waterlily Court, which is framed by a new arcade that redefines the court as an outdoor room and central destination.

Reed Hilderbrands design for the expanded landscape offers visitors an itinerary of grand walks and new and restored gardens, with places for gathering and pause provided throughout the intensive experience. Each garden reflects its identity and purpose: a West Walk that serves for strolling and orientation, a Central Grove along the Waterlily Court that serves as an entry to the new West Conservatory and relocated Cascade Garden, a walled Bonsai Courtyard that provides space for the exhibition of rare bonsai, and the expanded green of the West Terrace celebrating the grove of hundred-year-old plane trees.

A key element ofLongwood Reimaginedis the relocation and reconstruction of the Cascade Garden. Planned in consultation with WEISS/MANFREDI, Reed Hilderbrand, Burle Marx Landscape Design Studio, and a panel of preservation experts convened by Longwood, this is the first time that a historic garden has been relocated as a whole. Burle Marx designed the Cascade Garden in 1992 within an existing structure, which was retrofitted to accommodate hundreds of tropical plants, 35 tons of rock, and 3,000 feet of heating cable. Now this ensemble of richly textured plants that evokes elements of the rainforestpalms, bromeliads, philodendrons, and moreset amid vertical rock walls, cascading water, and clear pools will be moved into a new, custom-designed glasshouse.

Anita Berrizbeitia, Professor of Landscape Architecture and Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, said: The Cascade Garden gathers in a condensed space all the recognizable elements of the work of Robert Burle Marx, one of the 20th centurys most influential landscape architects. Its unique esthetic vision was delicately realized and is exceptionally well preserved. The new space, custom-designed for the Cascade Gardens optimal health and well-being, will allow it to thrive for many decades to come.

Longwood expects to break ground on the project in Spring 2021. The Main and East Conservatories will remain open throughout the transformation, and Longwood Gardens will continue to present an ongoing schedule of events and performances.

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Longwood Gardens to Expand and Transform Renowned Conservatory Grounds - MyChesCo

Agar Plates Market Therapeutics 2021 Global Industry Research Report by Classification, Product Study, Trends Overview, End-User and Regional Analysis, Forecast to 2025

The Agar Plates research report Evaluates the major key Aspects of this Industry which are Probably Impacted by Covid-19 Scenario. Theres almost an 80% rise in consumption of digital healthcare services after Covid-19. The Research study also Provides key emerging trends and their impact on present and future development by Providing Historical and Futuristic Data. These Research Study on Agar Plates Market makes substantial R&D investments in developing new products and advanced technology under the Insights on WHOs key consideration.

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Agar Plates market competitive landscape provides details including company overview, company total revenue (financials), market potential, global presence, Trends, sales and Demand Drivers, Pricing Policy, production Status, Technology and Other Services on Industry Analysing Factors Like SWOT analysis, PESTEL Aspects, Ansoffs Matrix and others.

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The key market drivers influencing global Agar Plates Industry growth, Future opportunities, current challenges and the risks Factors faced by Top key players and market Stakeholders. For the purpose of this Industry study, the Agar Plates Market has segmented the report on the basis of Type, Applications:

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For the historical and forecast period 2015 to 2025, it provides detailed and accurate country-wise volume analysis and region-wise market size analysis of the global market, including: The Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa.

The Americas FDA is anticipated growth to dominate the global Agar Plates market owing to the increasing demand for medical care for the diagnosis and Treatment of various health conditions.

According by The National Health Service (NHS) England: The growing economy, increasing healthcare expenditure, and the presence of a large number of medical device companies in this region drive market growth by rising expenditure toward research & development on healthcare bodies and government.

Asia-Pacific market is expected to be the fastest-growing region owing to the increasing geriatric population with health issues. The increasing patient pool increases the demand for medical care, which boosts the contrast media market in this region.

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Agar Plates Market Demand, Size, Competitive Landscape With Global Industry Forecast To 2025 KSU | The Sentinel Newspaper - KSU | The Sentinel...

KENNETT SQUARE, PA Longwood Gardens today unveiled plans for a sweeping transformation of its core area of conservatory gardens, in the most ambitious revitalization in a century of America's greatest center for horticultural display.

Adding new plantings and buildings across 17 acres, Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience will expand the public spaces of the renowned central grounds and connect them from east to west, offering a newly unified but varied journey from lush formal gardens to views over the open meadows of Pennsylvania's Brandywine Valley, according to Patricia Evans, Communications Director for Longwood Gardens.

The $250 million project originates from a master plan developed in 2010 by West 8 Urban Design & Landscape Architecture with WEISS/MANFREDI Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism. Longwood has continued working with WEISS/MANFREDI as lead designer, in collaboration with Reed Hilderbrand, on Longwood Reimagined, which continues the institution's distinguished history of commissioning and collecting outstanding garden designs and glasshouses. The project will be managed by Bancroft Construction Company, based in Wilmington, Del.

Longwood said it expects to break ground on the project in Spring 2021. The Main and East Conservatories will remain open throughout the transformation, and Longwood Gardens will continue to present an ongoing schedule of events and performances.

In keeping with Longwood's tradition of blending fountain gardens and horticultural display, the centerpiece and largest single element of Longwood Reimagined is the creation of a new 32,000-square-foot glasshouse, designed by WEISS/MANFREDI, with gardens and pools designed by Reed Hilderbrand.

This new West Conservatory with its asymmetrical, crystalline peaks seems to float on a pool of water, while the garden inside, inspired by the wild and cultivated landscapes of the Mediterranean, is conceived as seasonally changing islands set amid pools, canals, and low fountains.

Building on the great 19th-century tradition of glasshouses through new sustainable technologies, the West Conservatory is a living, breathing building, with earth tubes and operable glass walls and roof that allow the interior garden to thrive, a news release explained.

Longwood's Cascade Garden, the only design in North America by the great Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx, is being relocated in its totality to an all-new, 3,800-square-foot glasshouse of its own, a jewel box where the tropical plantings will be preserved and can thrive at the heart of the conservatory ensemble. A new outdoor Bonsai Courtyard, built alongside the West Conservatory, will exhibit one of the most outstanding collections of bonsai in the country.

Wood walls and hedges will create an intimate, gallery-like space with bonsai displayed on freestanding pedestals and on ledges mounted to walls. Carved into the topography that faces the Main Fountain Garden, a new public restaurant and private event space with a series of vaults reveal the spectacular fountain displays.

Other elements of the $250 million Longwood Reimagined project include construction of a new education and administration building with a state-of-the-art library and classrooms; renewal of the beloved Waterlily Court and preservation of six historic Lord & Burnham glasshouses from the early 20th century, to be relocated at a later date and used for year-round garden displays.

As part of the initial phase of transforming the area, Longwood's beloved century-old Orchid and Banana Houses will close on March 1 for preservation and will reopen in time for Longwood's 2021 year-end holiday display.

Paul B. Redman, President and CEO of Longwood Gardens, said: "In the tradition of our founder Pierre S. du Pont, who transformed a rural arboretum into one of the world's most beautiful places for horticultural display, Longwood Gardens has been growing and evolving for more than half a century from a private estate into an inviting center for public enjoyment."

"Over time, Longwood has assembled one of the world's most important collections of garden designs and glasshouses. With the assistance of the brilliant team of WEISS/MANFREDI and Reed Hilderbrand, Longwood Reimagined will be the largest undertaking in our history, enhancing the dazzling and deeply satisfying Longwood Gardens that will continue to enthrall our public for decades to come," Redman added.

Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi, founders and principals of WEISS/MANFREDI, said: "We're inspired by the sense of discovery and invention that are signatures of Longwood Gardens. We conceived of the design as a cinematic journey, a sequence of experiences that range from intimate to grand. The West Conservatory, with its pleated crystalline ridge, appears to float on water and is magically reflected by day and night. The vaults of the new restaurant and event space are carved into the hillside to reveal views of the Main Fountain Garden. A new arcade frames the historic Waterlily Court, and the great Cascade Garden is sheltered in a custom-designed glasshouse. These transformations extend the DNA of Longwood Gardens through the creation of new settings for public enjoyment and delight."

Douglas Reed, partner and principal of Reed Hilderbrand, said: "We felt our first responsibility in reimagining this expansive area of the grounds was to give expression and identity to the idea in the master plan to extend the conservatory complex along the high ridge. We drew inspiration from existing features of Longwood's landscape, among them tree-lined walks. The expansion scheme structures trees to define space and direct movement, recognizing Longwood's origins as an arboretum."

Reed added, "Above all, we felt this ambitious project must retain the character and warmth associated with Longwood's origin as an arboretum and country estate."

Reed Hilderbrand's design for the expanded landscape offers visitors an itinerary of grand walks and new and restored gardens, with places for gathering and pause provided throughout the intensive experience.

A key element of Longwood Reimagined is the relocation and reconstruction of the Cascade Garden. Planned in consultation with WEISS/MANFREDI, Reed Hilderbrand, Burle Marx Landscape Design Studio, and a panel of preservation experts convened by Longwood, this is the first time that a historic garden has been relocated as a whole.

Burle Marx designed the Cascade Garden in 1992 within an existing structure, which was retrofitted to accommodate hundreds of tropical plants, 35 tons of rock, and 3,000 feet of heating cable. Now this ensemble of richly textured plants that evokes elements of the rainforestpalms, bromeliads, philodendrons, and moreset amid vertical rock walls, cascading water, and clear pools will be moved into a new, custom-designed glasshouse.

Anita Berrizbeitia, Professor of Landscape Architecture and Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, said: "The Cascade Garden gathers in a condensed space all the recognizable elements of the work of Robert Burle Marx, one of the 20th century's most influential landscape architects. Its unique esthetic vision was delicately realized and is exceptionally well preserved. The new space, custom-designed for the Cascade Garden's optimal health and well-being, will allow it to thrive for many decades to come."

Make sure you know what's happening in your town. Sign up to get Patch emails and don't miss any local news: https://patch.com/subscribe.

Excerpt from:
Longwood Gardens To Add 17 Acres With Eye On Future - Patch.com

Longwood Gardens, the celebrated botanical garden spanning over 1,000 acres of the Brandywine Creek Valley just outside of Philadelphia, announced today that New York-based multidisciplinary practice WEISS/MANFREDI will lead a dramatic redesign and revitalization of the gardens 17-acre core conservatory area.

WEISS/MANFREDI, which previously teamed up with West 8 to develop a 2010 master plan for Longwood Gardens, will work in close collaboration with Cambridge, Massachusetts-headquartered landscape architecture firm Reed Hilderbrand for the $250 million revamp project, titled Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience.

Working alongside Beyer Blinder Belle and West 8, lighting design and consulting firm LObservatoire International received a 2017 AN Best of Design Award in the Lighting category for its new ambiance-enhancing lighting scheme at Longwood Gardens executed as part of an earlier renovation project.

As detailed in a press announcement, WEISS/MANFREDI and Reed Hilderbrands sweeping yet deeply sensitive transformation will expand the public spaces of the renowned central grounds and connect them from east to west, offering a newly unified but continually varied journey from lush formal gardens to views over the open meadows of Pennsylvanias Brandywine Valley.

At the center of the reimagining will be a new 32,000-square-foot glasshouse designed by WEISS/MANFREDI with gardens and pools designed by Reed Hilderbrand. Longwood Gardens described the new West Conservatory as a 21st-century take on iconic, Victorian-era hothouses that will incorporate state-of-the-art sustainable technologies including earth tubes and operable glass walls and roof. Featuring a tapestry-like design, the West Conservatorys interior gardenspopulated by aloes, laurels, blueblossom, Greek horehound, and lankier specimens such as cypress and centenarian olive treesreference the wild and cultivated landscapes of the Mediterranean and were envisioned by the design team as seasonally changing islands surrounded by pools, canals, and low fountains.

The glasshouses exterior will also take on an island-like effect. With its pleated crystalline ridge, [the West Conservatory] appears to float on water and is magically reflected by day and night, said Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi, cofounders and principals of WEISS/MANFREDI, in a statement.

Were inspired by the sense of discovery and invention that are signatures of Longwood Gardens. We conceived of the design as a cinematic journey, a sequence of experiences that range from intimate to grand, added Weiss and Manfredi. These transformations extend the DNA of Longwood Gardens through the creation of new settings for public enjoyment and delight.

In addition to the new West Conservatory, an additional new 3,800-square-foot glasshouse will be erected to house Longwoods tropical Cascade Garden. Designed by prominent Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx, the Cascade Garden opened in 1992 and is the only North American landscape designed by Marx. For Longwood Reimagined, the Cascade Garden, previously located at the site of what was once the Desert House, will be painstakingly relocated in its totality to its new custom-designed glasshouse.

The Cascade Garden gathers in a condensed space all the recognizable elements of the work of Robert Burle Marx, one of the 20th centurys most influential landscape architects, said Anita Berrizbeitia, professor of landscape architecture and chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Its unique esthetic vision was delicately realized and is exceptionally well preserved. The new space, custom-designed for the Cascade Gardens optimal health and well-being, will allow it to thrive for many decades to come.

Additional new landscapes and spaces realized as part of Longwood Reimagined include a new outdoor Bonsai Courtyard adjacent to the West Conservatory that will provide an intimate, gallery-like new venue for Longwood Gardens to display its world-class bonsai collection, and a new public restaurant and private event space that will be tucked into the hilly topography opposite the Main Fountain Garden. Located directly above the restaurant and event space will be a new South Terrace and South Walk featuring landscaping that provides a provides a shady promenade extending along the existing and new conservatories to a new West Terrace, where the landform echoes the arc of a stand of hundred-year-old plane trees and frames views out toward the Brandywines meadows, according to the press announcement.

Whats more, the Longwood Reimaginedproject will also entail the construction of a new education and administration building featuring a library and classrooms, a refresh of Sir Peter Shepheards historic Waterlily Court that will see it framed by a new arcade, and the preservation of six historic early 2othcentury Lord & Burnham glasshouses that will eventually be relocated and used for year-round displays. The Orchid and Banana Houses will also be subject to preservation work beginning on March 1 and re-open ahead of the winter holidaysa popular season for Longwood.

We felt our first responsibility in reimagining this expansive area of the grounds was to give expression and identity to the idea in the master plan to extend the conservatory complex along the high ridge, said Douglas Reed, partner and principal of Reed Hilderbrand, in a statement. We drew inspiration from existing features of Longwoods landscape, among them tree-lined walks. The expansion scheme structures trees to define space and direct movement, recognizing Longwoods origins as an arboretum. Above all, we felt this ambitious project must retain the character and warmth associated with Longwoods origin as an arboretum and country estate.

Work on Longwood Reimagined is slated to kick off this spring. The Main and East Conservatories will remain open throughout the project and planned events and performances will continue to be held pending pandemic-era restrictions. Opened to the public in 1921 by founder Pierre S. du Point, today Longwood Gardens is most visited paid public garden in North America. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

The Delaware-based Bancroft Construction Company will manage the project.

See the article here:
WEISS/MANFREDI and Reed Hilderbrand reveal an expansive reimagining at Longwood Gardens - The Architect's Newspaper