In keeping with the functionally expressive plan for the buildings, park spaces within Twin Embraces are configured as a series of highly programmatic events, each celebrating a different habitat within the diverse Chicago ecological spectrum.  Native plants are used exclusively, but with an emphasis on the many rare species that often require stewardship, specialized habitats, or greater public awareness as to their needs and ecological benefit.

The approach of providing highly curated spaces is similar to Olmsted’s in the sense that he frequently contrasted richly developed landscaping elements with broader, “pastoral” scenes that purposefully evoked simplicity.  The South Open Green at Washington Park, accessible to the west of the Presidential Center just beyond the Arboretum, is a classic example of his pastoral mode, while the grouping of features known as the Upper Plaisance is more indicative of the “picturesque.”

Today’s Washington Park remains true to Olmsted’s 1881 caution, with elements executed in his two styles largely cordoned into south and north halves of the park.  First by removing the bifurcating traffic along Morgan Drive, and second by providing additional picturesque elements on the western side of the park, Twin Embraces brings the park into better harmony and balance.

The carefully curated and managed landscapes lend themselves to nuance, with distinct ecosystems and collections of interdependent species.  Similarly, the new parklands provide a choreographic, intimate approach to landscape design, allowing visitors to personalize their experience, and imbuing this experience with a sense of contemplation and discovery.  They are part of a natural botanic garden that evolves in an organic fashion, representative of the great ecological offerings of the Chicago region that too few have closely encountered.