In Philadelphia, a new kind of art space takes root. Calder Gardens opens September 21, 2025, on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
It’s not quite a museum, more a sanctuary and garden, with a deep appreciation of the groundbreaking sculptor, Alexander Calder, who was born in the city.
Designed by Herzog & de Meuron with landscape by Piet Oudolf, the 1.8-acre site blends naturalistic gardens of more than 250 plant varieties with galleries built into the earth.
The shape of the space is made up of subtle metal volumes, sunken rooms, reflective surfaces, with shifting views.
At its heart are the works of Alexander Calder. Mobiles that move, stabiles that anchor, pieces both familiar and rare.
They rotate through the spaces so visitors see them in a new light with each visit. The experience is designed to stir quiet reflection not lecture. There are no wall labels, no formal script. Just art and air and the seasons passing.
Calder Gardens is more abstract in format than many museums or public spaces.
It invites visitors to wander, watch the light shift, connect with art by letting space breathe around it. With art that literally moves with the breeze, that feels like a fitting setting.
-Herzog & de Meuron
Piet Oudolf’s planting design gives the space its heartbeat.
Known for his wild yet precise gardens, Oudolf has filled the site with native perennials and grasses that change in color and texture throughout the year.
Read more about this lovely new space, and the impact of Calder’s work on Dezeen.
Photography by Iwan Baan.
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