Vertical Welcoming Garden
The forty-foot tall narrow Welcoming Garden is comprised of a series of textured sculptural copper and bronze shelf forms and creeping plants set within a plane of stone. Michael Singer designed and fabricated the vertical Welcoming Garden as an integrated work of art for the Jewish Community Center’s new Samuel Priest Rose Building on 76th St and Amsterdam Ave in Manhattan. Welcoming Garden is positioned to form a crevice into a multi-storey field of Jerusalem Stone that is located behind the glass façade at the building’s main entrance. The sculpture was envisioned as a hanging green garden that does not come in contact with the floor and is just out of reach of visitors on the landings.
The garden’s channel extends behind the plane of stone, revealing deeper layers when observed closely. Water flows very slowly within the crevice, dripping from level to level before collecting in a small reservoir. Pockets of Ficus Repens plants are distributed within the 16 inch wide inner chamber and are fed by the slow dripping water. When nurtured, the climbing ficus plants emerge from the narrow opening and form a living tapestry along the face of the stone wall.
The project was sponsored by the Jewish Community of the Upper West Side.
Artist/Designer: Michael Singer
Singer Studio Team: David Loomis and Eric Slayton
Art Consultant: Nancy Rosen
Building Architect: Diamond & Schmitt Architects
Plant Specialist: Raimondi Horticultural
JCC Project Director: Nancy Rosen
Photography: David Stansbury
