Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Cathy Sutherland
San Antonio
Hospitality
Awarding Agency & Judge Panel
i-Plants Urban Horticulture Magazine
published by Johnson Fediw Consulting Associates
2017 International Design Contest judged by panel of 4 industry experts. Award submissions were judged on the uniqueness and innovation of design; innovative use of materials; appropriateness for the space and client satisfaction.
“Remember the Alamo!” Everyone knows that famous battle cry. But have you ever heard anyone say “Remember the Paseo del Alamo”? If not, there may be a reason for that. The Paseo del Alamo is a path that runs from the Alamo through the river level floor of the Hyatt Regency Hotel on the San Antonio Riverwalk. Almost every visitor to San Antonio walks through it when spending time on that famous attraction. Unfortunately the pathway inside the hotel had not been updated in many years and had become a detraction rather than an attraction. That is where Plant Interscapes stepped in.
The ground floor of the Hyatt Regency has twelve large planter beds in various sizes, shapes and elevations. The horticultural design at that time was unremarkable. The plants were lined up in rows as if they were crops (presumably to make the best use of the underground irrigation system), and they were sparsely laid out. Instead of the plants enhancing the space, they were instead a mar on what is an extremely nice hotel that had been recently renovated.
The plan was to come up with a design that fit the hotels stature and significance while re-purposing the plants already owned by the hotel and adding additional plants . This required putting together a design concept first; then taking inventory of the plants on hand; measuring the beds, and calculating the number, sizes and types of additional plants needed to make the design complete. Additionally, the locations of the current plants would not work with the design so we knew we would have to dig them all up during install and re-position them. We met with hotel management to present the concept utilizing visual aids and they readily approved it. In the course of the negotiations, we also met with the irrigation vendor to determine the best way to restructure the irrigation lines that ran under the bed. It was decided that the irrigation vendor would be on site during the install to move the lines as needed. The design plan was laid out over the course of the next few weeks. On install day, with a well-designed plan, we had fifteen workers, the designer, and the irrigation vendor on site to bring the new design to life.
The new look was an amazing transformation. The plants not only enhanced the space but made it a picture taking showplace. At the end of the day, the General Manager met with us and stated that the design and the overall look far exceeded his expectations.
Now visitors to San Antonio will remember the Paseo Del Alamo as well as the Alamo!
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