Morris Arboretum “Nest” Project Completed
The Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania and an Official Arboretum of Pennsylvania is located in the northwestern part of Philadelphia. It is dedicated to displaying and exposing over 13,000 plants to its thousands of visitors who tour the grounds each year. The new centerpiece to the compound is called “Out on a Limb” where galvanized steel was used to erect a platform 30 feet up in the air around trees over 200 years old culminating in a walkway out to a “nest” hanging over the edge of a stream. Galvanizing was used for its maintenance free, long term corrosion benefits as well as its high marks as a sustainable material in this environmentally friendly installation. AGC worked with the fabricator, DDM, to help design a galvanizing friendly design that satisfied all the requirements of the architect and engineer. The nest was large enough that double dip galvanizing was required and venting/drainage issues were solved that ensured a top quality coating. There were delivery expectations that had to be met in order for the Arboretum to have the display ready for its Spring opening and AGC met every demand with time to spare. The project highlighted many of AGC’s strengths: on-time delivery, large structural steel quality galvanizing, handrail quality galvanizing, and willingness to communicate with its customers for seemless execution of the project.
