Piet Oudolf on designing for the seasons at Calder Gardens | Summit 2026
Piet Oudolf is a celebrated Dutch garden designer. A leading figure of the New Perennial movement — an avant garde planting style that mimics natural botanical communities — Oudolf has gained international acclaim for his distinctive approach, which he brought to high-profile commissions such as New York’s High Line.
At Calder Gardens — a new art institution dedicated to the late modernist sculptor Alexander Calder — Oudolf’s plantings cover a subterranean gallery designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, creating a meadow-like sanctuary in downtown Philadelphia, the artist’s birthplace.
Planted with 37,000 perennials from a palette of more than 195 varieties, the gardens will transform throughout the seasons, in dialogue with a rotating selection of artworks spanning Calder’s career. A complex, dense ecological patchwork, the landscape reflects Oudolf’s deep consideration for the composition of his gardens — not only in the present, but as they develop over time.
This presentation was recorded at the home of Piet Oudolf in Hummelo, Netherlands, with additional footage from Calder Gardens in Philadelphia, PA, USA. The video was first shown at The World Around Summit 2026, a full-day program dedicated to Architecture’s Now, Near & Next.
Taking place at The Museum of Modern Art, the program was co-organized by Beatrice Galilee, founder and executive director of The World Around, and Martino Stierli, Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design at The Museum of Modern Art.