Kraus Campo facts for kids
Kraus Campo is a special garden built on the roof of a building! It's like a park in the sky, located on top of the Posner Center at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. This unique space was created by artist Mel Bochner and landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh.
The Campo features bright orange paths, different kinds of green plants, and a cool seating area in the middle. There's also a famous quote written in tiles on one of the walls. The garden is named after Jill Gansman Kraus, who helped fund it, and her husband Peter Kraus. It cost about $4 million to build and opened in the fall of 2004.
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Designing the Kraus Campo
The ideas for the Campo's design came from two main places. One was the ancient Greek idea of an agora. An agora was a public meeting place where people would gather to share ideas and talk. The other inspiration was the city of Siena, Italy, which has beautiful public squares.
The Central Seating Area
At the heart of the garden is a large, curved sculpture. It's about 25 feet long and 60 feet wide, and it's covered in many small tiles. This curvy shape is called a "French curve," and it's meant to be a comfy place for people to sit and relax. The surface of this curve is covered with random numbers, which adds a unique artistic touch.
Plants and Greenery
The Campo is filled with various plants that make it feel like a real garden. You can find evergreen boxwoods, colorful azaleas, and red Japanese barberry bushes. There are also ilex plants and ivy, which add different textures and shades of green to the space.
The Tiled Wall Quote
One of the most interesting parts of the Campo is a large wall that faces the garden. This wall, which belongs to the Tepper School of Business building, was painted blue. On it, there's a quotation by the famous thinker Ludwig Wittgenstein. What makes it special is that the words are written in reverse order using black and white tiles!
The quote talks about the "direction of time" and how things change. It's a fun puzzle to read and think about while you're enjoying the garden.
