The Sculpture Garden at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
When The Aldrich was founded in 1964, the presentation of works in nature was a central part of the Museum’s earliest program. Sculpture by artists including Anthony Caro, Alexander Liberman, Tony Smith, and Robert Grosvenor were displayed on the Museum’s campus year-round for visitors and the public to enjoy free of charge.
In 2004, The Aldrich inaugurated a new, state-of-the-art $9 million Museum building with modern galleries, an education and studio space, and climate controls. In addition, the Museum’s new building considered audience accessibility—a challenge in the original 18th century building, the Old Hundred—and installed corridors and an elevator designed for visitor ease. The new building enabled significantly more visitors to engage with the Museum’s ambitious exhibition and education programs and continues to serve as a dynamic gathering space for the community, while allowing The Aldrich to present significantly more works of art at varying scales.
Now, The Aldrich seeks to unite our entire campus by bringing the same level of thoughtful design outdoors, to our three-acre property.
Cover: Frank Stella’s Stars, A Survey (installation view), The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, September 21, 2020 to May 9, 2021, Courtesy of the artist and Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York and Aspen © 2023 Frank Stella / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: Christopher E. Manning Left: Visitors with work by Robert Grosvenor in the Sculpture Garden, ca. 1968.Landscape Master Plan for The Aldrich
Located in the heart of Ridgefield, The Aldrich is a valuable institution for both contemporary art and public space. Not simply a sculpture garden, and not just a series of galleries, The Aldrich provides artists with the unique opportunity to present their work both indoors and out. Recent exhibitions, including Frank Stella’s Stars, A Survey and 52 Artists: A Feminist Milestone, have spanned the galleries and the grounds, connecting artists work through the Museum’s galleries and into the public realm.
The Aldrich’s campus, which extends from Main Street to the Sculpture Garden behind the 2004 Museum building, is a unique space to experience works of contemporary art outdoors. In addition, the Museum provides a significant open space to the community of Ridgefield, bookending the town’s central corridor with Ballard Park. During the pandemic, The Aldrich saw the use of its outdoor space increase dramatically, as visitors from around the community and around the country explored works of art on view outdoors. The Museum embarked on this new Master Plan to meet the expanding needs of our audience.
While the Museum’s campus is well-utilized, The Aldrich understands the significant limitations of the site, including lack of accessible walkways, significant grade changes, and limited sightlines. The Cambridge, MA-based landscape architecture firm STIMSON was engaged and tasked with the goal of identifying the character of the site and its resources and developing a plan for its improvement. With this new plan, The Aldrich can focus its resources on creating a beautiful, universally inclusive and accessible, native landscape designed for engagement with works of art in the center of historic Ridgefield.
Left, top to bottom: 52 Artists: A Feminist Milestone (installation view), The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, June 6, 2022 to January 8, 2023. Photo: Jason Mandella. Virginia Overton, Untitled (Suspended log) (installation view), 2016, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, May 1, 2016 to February 5, 2017, Courtesy of the artist. Next page, top to bottom: Visitors in the Sculpture Garden (Frank Stella’s Stars, A Survey, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, September 21, 2020 to May 9, 2021); A Place at the Table in the Sculpture Garden. Nari Ward, Apollo / Poll (installation view), 2017, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, June 12, 2019 to January 10, 2020. Originally presented and commissioned by Socrates Sculpture Park, New York. Courtesy the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York, Hong Kong, and Seoul.Design Process
STIMSON conducted workshops with Museum stakeholders to solicit guidance and input on the site design. The design team and the Board’s Sculpture Garden Committee developed a list of clear goals for the Sculpture Garden design:
Accessibility and inclusion for all
Expand the platform for artists with flexibility for exhibitions, events, programming, and community use
Environmental stewardship
Museum Setting
Within a half-mile radius of downtown, Ridgefield has several well-known parks and cultural institutions each with distinct resources and character. The plethora of existing town resources provides a unique design opportunity to showcase the novelty and individuality of The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum within the context of historic Ridgefield.
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“Sculpture is like real estatelocation, location, location. The Aldrich provided a perfect setting for my Deer sculpture. She seemed to walk right out of the woods.”– Tony Tasset
The New York Times writes that our exhibitions are the kind you expect at a “big-guns urban institution, but [find] at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in leafy suburban Connecticut.” – September 2019
Site Analysis
• Elements of the physical plant- the loading dock, air conditioning unit and dumpster- create negative visual impact on the site.
CHURCH +750 +759 +757
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE +739 +737
DROP OFF SLOPE EXCEEDS MAX ALLOWABLE
MUSEUM OFFICES
GALLERY SPACE +733 TERRACE +748
POLLINATOR PATHWAY NO DIRECT, ACCESSIBLE ROUTE FROM MAIN STREET TO GARDEN EXISTS
CREATES VISUAL IMPACT ON +736 +728
25’ 25’ 25’ SETBACK PROPERTY LINE
BUFFER
+728 25’
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50’ 50’ SLOPE BUFFER BUFFER
“The character of the sculpture garden in proximity to the architecture of The Aldrich is highly unique and was a vital element in the layout of my exhibition there. It works as one organic body, one extended breath. It is analogous to how a stream of thought evolves and takes form. There are few museums that have such poignant interrelations between its exterior spaces and interior spaces as The Aldrich. One could say that the sculpture garden is at the core of The Aldrich experience.” –
Students in The Aldrich Sculpture Garden Risa Puno, Common Ground (installation view), 2016, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, June 15 to November 1, 2018, Courtesy of the artist.David Brooks
“One of my favorite things about making public art is that it eventually becomes part of people’s everyday lives. And because of that, it holds such potential for meaningful community engagement. I loved knowing that my artwork (at The Aldrich) could be enjoyed by anyone, even without the cost of admission.”– Risa Puno
Proposed Plan
Making the Master Plan a Reality
Building STIMSON’s plan for The Aldrich will transform the Museum, linking the gallery-based program with the campus and dramatically expanding the Museum’s ability to use the three-acre site.
• The Master Plan will make approximately 50% more space available to artists and the community. The Aldrich is currently limited when installing work outdoors, as sculptures need to be experienced from a distance or accessible via a short walk on grass from the building. New spaces in the Garden, linked by accessible pathways, will include the Secret Garden, Pollinator Pathway, and Boardwalk, and will significantly expand the number of sites where works of art can be installed and enjoyed, expanding what artists are able to realize at The Aldrich.
• The Amphitheater will add an entirely new programmatic space to the Museum, providing a natural venue for The Aldrich’s presentation of dance, music, and community programs. The Amphitheater also provides a natural gathering place for visitors and adds seating to the Garden, something that is currently lacking.
• Because of significant grade changes, a large portion of the campus is currently entirely inaccessible and thus is completely unused by the Museum. The Master Plan’s circular pathway will allow visitors to walk or utilize a wheelchair or stroller from Main Street around the entirety of the campus, giving visitors a significantly expanded opportunity to explore the site.
• Environmental stewardship is a priority for the Museum and the Master Plan, and remediation of invasive species, storm water management, and planting native species, are key features of the project, which will improve biodiversity and the site’s overall health.
Most importantly, the Master Plan makes the Museum’s entire campus—and all the works of art and programs we present—accessible to the broadest audience. This dramatic change is in service of the artists whose work we support and is in the spirit of connecting their work with our community.
Estimated Budget
The Aldrich has established a $3.25 million budget to make the Master Plan a reality. This expense includes:
• Extensive demolition and construction
• Removal of invasive species
• Planting of trees, bushes, and perennials throughout
• Furniture
• Wayfinding signage
• Legal and town permit fees
Get Involved
Generous support from the Museum’s community is necessary to bring this ambitious project—which will dramatically transform The Aldrich—to life. Should you be interested in learning more about naming opportunities or how to get involved, please contact:
Cybele Maylone Executive Directorcmaylone@thealdrich.org
203-438-4519 x 116
About the Architects
STIMSON Landscape Architects
Edward Marshall, FASLA, Principal
Ramon Ibarlucea, Associate, Landscape Architect
Abigail Fuller, Landscape Designer
Based in Cambridge and Princeton, MA, STIMSON’s work is shaped by local culture, context, and ecology.
Recent projects include work at Hackley School, the Florence Griswold Museum, and Harvard University. They were the 2021 American Association of Landscape Architects Firm of the Year.
Master Plan Review Committee
Cybele Maylone, Executive Director
Amy Pal, Chair of the Sculpture Garden Committee
Diana Bowes
Eric Diefenbach
Gail Gluckman
Michael Joo
Richard Klein
Kristina Larson
Amanda Lehman
Rudy Shepherd
The Master Plan was supported by generous grants from the Anne S. Richardson Fund and the Leir Foundation.
Board of Trustees
Diana Bowes
Chair
Andrew J. Pitts
Vice-Chair
Linda M. Dugan Treasurer
Julie Phillips
Secretary
Claude K. Amadeo
Eric Diefenbach
Gail Gluckman
Rachel Carr Goulding
Michael Joo
Patricia Kemp
Kristina Larson
Neil Marcus
Amy Pal
Rudy Shepherd
Kathryn (KK) Streator
Georganne Aldrich Heller
Honorary Trustee
Kathleen O’Grady
Chair Emerita
Martin Sosnoff
Trustee Emeritus
Cybele Maylone Executive Director
Larry Aldrich (1906–2001)
Founder
The Aldrich
Contemporary
Art Museum
258 Main Street Ridgefield, CT thealdrich.org