Excellence In Landscape Awards Project

Christy Webber Landscapes • Chicago 151 N. Franklin

The 151 N. Franklin project presented many diverse challenges throughout the construction process. The ‘Plaza Level’ featured the installation of 5 Birch trees sized at 24-28’ in height. Not only were these trees installed on top of an underground parking structure, they were installed beneath the overhang of the building that created the plaza. The root balls of the Birch were hand dug at 80” diameter; the openings in the plaza deck were 82”. To execute this portion of the project, the trees were placed overnight by use of a crane.

The landscape features on the 2nd and 3rd levels included the installation of drainage layers, custom soil blends, trees, shrubs, perennials, and pre-vegetated sedum mat.

Jumping up to the 36th floor - the Penthouse Level - this level was covered with drainage layers, custom soil blends, edging, and pre-vegetated sedum mat.

On the 35th floor is the 151 N. Franklin outdoor amenities deck. Custom stainless-steel frames were created to bring to life a LED lighting feature which consisted of tumbled glass ballast underneath custom fabricated and installed 1” tempered glass panels. The panels were embedded with a custom texture to prevent slipping. The decking consisted of Ipe wood tiles set on pedestals. Wind uplift was a concern on the 35th floor, therefore custom ballast boxes were constructed out of marine grade wood products. These ballast boxes were filled with gravel and attached to the pedestal system to create a solid footing. Custom, hand-fabricated Ipe benches were also created and installed to line the perimeter walls.

Perhaps one of our favorite features were the Gabion planters, custom fabricated out of stainless steel and set onto round concrete. Concrete buggies shuffled the 5 cubic yards of concrete up to the 35th floor using the freight elevator. We then installed 3 of the 4 sections of Gabion onto the concrete, leaving one section out to place the trees. Once the 8’ Hawthorn trees were set, the Gabions were closed in and filled with custom planter mix. The outside of the Gabion planters was filled with Peruvian beach pebbles, imported from Peru.