Moody Gardens

The project scope included the development of a Long Range Development Master Plan for a mixed use botanical garden...[read more]

on a marshland site contiguous with Galveston bay. The development required securing a 404 B1 Permit for filling in wetlands and raising upland areas as much as 12 feet to protect the improvements from hurricane storm surge. Additionally, site access and parking problems had to de addressed.

The plan integrated Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe’s “Landscape of Civilisation” garden plan into a program that included 3 Biomes, an Imax theater, white sand beach, paddle boat dock, conference center and animal contact facility with minimum impact to existing wetlands. The plan required the securing of 404-b1 and grey water recycling permits with State and Federal agencies. Overall circulation including tram, pedestrian, marina and vehicular systems were coordinated to minimize visitor conflicts and enhance multiple means of access.

The 200-acre project was projected to take 20 years to complete with the long term development costs estimated to be approximately $120,000,000.00. SLA functioned as team coordinator for initial engineering, architectural and client input on the overall theme, site utilization, circulation, streetscape recommendations, grading, drainage, and land use.

Short term improvements included detailed landscape design for a unique therapeutic Animal Contact Facility, Conference facilities, Koi Pond/Fountain, White Sand Beach and a Tropical Biome.