Chicago Botanic Garden – Stone Family Picnic Glade

The Stone Family Picnic Glade at the Chicago Botanic Garden is an inviting outdoor space used for family picnics, social gatherings, formal events, and the leisurely appreciation of various landscape vistas.

The patio and pavilions are carefully situated to serve as an entry point from the adjacent Mary Mix McDonald Woods for those traveling by foot or bicycle. Seen from the Elizabeth Hubert Malott Japanese Garden, the Glade was designed to minimally affect the carefully calibrated views and compositions that are so integral to Japanese garden design. The new structures are laid out to provide a sun filled lawn for gathering while also avoiding the drip line of a 250-year-old native specimen swamp white oak that is a Garden favorite.

The pavilion area offers year-round respite providing shade on a hot day or a sunny area to warm up in the colder seasons. Serving as a transition between the forest of the Mary Mix McDonald woods and the formal landscape of the Chicago Botanic Garden, the picnic pavilion roofs are perforated and backlit to evoke the feeling of the tree canopy of the adjacent forest preserve. The patio is bordered by rain gardens that capture the runoff and enhance the natural setting. The area includes amenities such as restrooms, bike storage, and picnic lunch storage for visiting groups.

Awards:
AIA Chicago, Citation of Merit, 2024