Philadelphia welcomes a striking new cultural landmark this September with the opening of Calder Gardens, a visionary collaboration between Herzog & de Meuron and landscape designer Piet Oudolf. Conceived as a living dialogue between art, architecture, and nature, the project celebrates the life and legacy of American sculptor Alexander Calder, offering visitors an immersive experience unlike any other.
A New Cultural Landmark
Located along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway—home to the Barnes Foundation, the Rodin Museum, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art—Calder Gardens presents a rotating collection of Calder’s most iconic works. Oudolf’s naturalistic wildflower meadows flow seamlessly into Herzog & de Meuron’s curved architectural forms, together creating a tranquil, ever-changing environment that reflects Calder’s kinetic spirit.
The museum officially opens to the public on September 21, 2025, with a celebratory citywide parade led by artist and composer Arto Lindsay, inviting Philadelphians to experience the union of art and landscape.
“Calder Gardens is an extraordinary space,” says Marsha Perelman, President of the Trustees. “It solidifies Philadelphia’s position as one of the world’s most exciting cities to experience and be transformed by art.”
Designing an Experience Beyond a Museum
For architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, Calder Gardens represented a departure from traditional architectural commissions. With no set brief, budget, or even a defined site, the project evolved through conversations with the Calder Foundation and Barnes Foundation.
“This was a very unusual project,” recalls Herzog. “It should not freeze Calder’s art into one static image, but rather allow his works to express their diversity and ambiguity within different spatial contexts. Therefore, it should not be like a museum, nor an art gallery.”
The result is a fluid interplay of light, movement, and space—where art and environment continuously transform one another.
Calder Gardens: Drawings and Texts by Jacques Herzog
Coinciding with the opening, Hauser & Wirth Publishers will release Calder Gardens: Drawings and Texts by Jacques Herzog this winter. The publication features sketches, collages, and reflections that trace the evolution of Herzog’s design thinking. It offers a rare glimpse into how the architecture itself became an artistic response to Calder’s legacy.
Strategic Significance
Calder Gardens enriches Philadelphia’s cultural corridor, bridging the city’s historical and contemporary artistic narratives. As visitors move through its gardens and galleries, they encounter a space that blurs the boundaries between built form and natural beauty—a fitting tribute to one of America’s most imaginative sculptors.
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