Biltmore, tours, and beers!

Tour #1 (Part 1) , Sponsored by NCBOLA
9:30 - 10:00 AM -Biltmore Gardens Tour Talk $80 pp 40

The landscapes of the present-day Biltmore Estate remain a testament to the man who envisioned them in the late 19th century: Frederick Law Olmsted, recognized as the father of landscape architecture in America. Biltmore continues to be a remarkably well-preserved example of Olmsted’s genius, as well as one of the last great works of his illustrious career as America’s “park maker.”

This two-part tour will shed light on the masterwork of Olmsted and architect Richard Morris Hunt in their design for Biltmore’s gardens and grounds. Estate staff will begin the first portion of the tour with an overview of landscape origins, early design, and its evolution and management over the 20th and early 21st century to today. Throughout, staff will share how the estate’s landscape and present-day day-stewardship embody Olmsted’s Seven S's, the observable precepts of Olmstedian design and stewardship. Following this overview, attendees will be led through recent landscape rehabilitation projects in the Esplanade, Italian Garden, and Shrub Garden. Part II of the tour will be a self-guided exploration of the Estate grounds.

Location:

Attendees will need to drive themselves to the Estate. Once they have received admittance (with tickets in hand), they will make their way to Parking Lots A or B, by way of the Approach Road (Olmsted’s masterful three-mile “wild garden”) and once parked, walk to the Esplanade (the grand lawn fronting the house). The Tour will begin at the top of the Ramp Deuce (the twin double-winged ramp/stairway opposite the house at the far east end of the Esplanade).

Tour #1 (Part 2) , Sponsored by NCBOLA
10:00 - 12:30 PM - Biltmore Gardens Tour (Self Guided)

Lauren Henry

Lauren is the Curator of Interpretation at Biltmore. Her work within the curatorial team centers on researching and sharing Biltmore’s rich history through tours, publications, exhibits, and more. One of her recent projects involved developing a new collection of interpretive signs for guests detailing the work and influence of Frederick Law Olmsted around the estate.
Prior to joining Biltmore’s Museum Services team in 2016, Lauren earned an undergraduate degree in Anthropology and International Studies from Illinois Wesleyan University and a Master of Arts in Museum Studies from Johns Hopkins University.

Bill Quade

**Bill** is the Director of Horticulture with the Biltmore Company. Prior to this, Bill served in various positions within the Horticulture Department starting in 1998. Bill’s strong leadership ability, positive personality, and understanding of Biltmore’s core values were instrumental in the opening of The Inn on Biltmore Estate, Antler Hill Village, The Village Hotel on Biltmore Estate, and most recently Amherst at Deerpark. Bill enjoys the challenge of maintaining the estate’s historical design intent while implementing the needs of the 21st century.
He holds North Carolina Certificates as a Certified Plantsman, Certified Pesticide Applicator, and Certified Turfgrass Professional. He obtained his Certified Landscape Technician through The National Association of Landscape Professionals. Bill is an active member of the Professional Grounds Management Society, Buncombe County Cooperative Extension Board of Advisors, and the children’s ministry at his church. Bill has been married to his wife Rhonda for 22 years and spends most of his free time keeping up with his 16-year-old son and his 13-year-old daughter.

Tour #2 ,Sponsored by Madrax / Thomas Steele
1:30- 2:30 PM - Historic Biltmore Village Tour $25 pp max of 25 attendees
Asheville’s historic Biltmore Village was the vision of George Washington Vanderbilt. Laid out by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, and architect Richard Morris Hunt, the village and its association with Vanderbilt’s Biltmore estate resembles the European manorial system “plan” where lavish manor homes and their associated agricultural fields were supported by a fully functioning village.

Designed in 1889, with substantial build-out by 1909, the Village’s fan-shaped layout, and a predominant half-timbered architectural style, served as a quaint and picturesque context and point of entry for Vanderbilt’s 125,000 acre estate. By 1909 the Village included a cathedral, train station, hospital, school, post office, commercial shops, residential cottages, and green spaces and gardens.

Today the Village continues to serve as the supporting and associated forecourt to the Biltmore Estate, but its function and form have evolved in anticipated and sometimes surprising ways. This walking tour will introduce participants to the evolution of the village’s historic design and storied rehabilitation. Hear first-hand from those who fought for and creatively drafted its future vitality. By observing in detail, the “character-defining” features of the Olmsted landscape, participants will assess decisions made to date and consider future considerations balancing the desire to protect historic integrity with accessibility, continued development pressures, and public safety. More specifically we will investigate how Village views and spatial character, topography, hydrology and climate resiliency, and the material form of hardscape, vegetation, and village small-scale features may survive to ensure future generations experience for themselves the enduring reciprocal relationship of two masterworks, the Estate and it’s Village.

Location

All attendees will need to provide their own transportation to the Village. On-street parking is available throughout the village but parking is limited; carpooling is advised. Commercial off-street lots (Hotels, Restaurants, Shops) adjacent to the village (immediately north and south along Hendersonville Rd.) are a secondary option and are subject to the restrictions of their respective property-owner rules and regulations. Please use discretion, noting this tour will take approximately 1 hour. Please allow up to 15-20 minutes to secure parking and walk to the tour's beginning point.

The tour will begin promptly at 1:30 pm in the Village Plaza (Village Green), a triangular green space at the center of the Village, bordered by Biltmore Plaza Street and Lodge St. (Brook Street). Tour guides will begin discussions on the green, regarding the Village's original design intent and composition, before leading participants on a walking tour through the village, highlighting numerous late-20th century and 21st-century preservation efforts that have stewarded the Village's present beauty and historic integrity. (Cumulative walking distance for the tour from start to finish is less than 1/2 mile).

Glen Stach

Glenn Stach a preservation landscape architect and planner based in Asheville, NC with many notable projects working with and stewarding historically valuable landscapes nationwide. His professional work is exclusively focused to preserve and make visible the legacy of the historic landscape and those who have influenced it over time. In 2008, Stach founded the office which bears his namesake, located in historic Biltmore Village since 2013. The firm works exclusively with stewards of historic and cultural sites to envision their vibrant futures. From 2018-2022 STACH supported the management and planning of the United States Semiquincentennial Commission, Congress’s official body overseeing commemorative planning for the nation’s 250th anniversary and continues grassroots support of preservation policy and historic site rehabilitation in preparation for this national milestone.

Since moving to Asheville in 2002 STACH has contributed to projects with the Estate and preservation projects in the Village. His work with other National Register Districts, and Olmsted-designed Landscapes, including the Olmsted & Vaux-designs for the Village of Riverside in Chicago, have informed his advocacy for continued stewardship of the Village’s character-defining landscape features.

Robert Griffin

Robert Griffin moved to Asheville in 1975 and began his architectural apprenticeship at Six associates, following his degree in Architecture from Auburn University. In 1979 Robert and his Partner Ron Clemmer opened Fireside Antiques and Interiors on Biltmore Plaza in Biltmore Village. In 1987 he personally petitioned The City of Asheville to create The 1988 Biltmore Village Historic District and led the steering committee to create the Historic Guidelines. In 1992 he authored The Biltmore Village Development Plan, and was a founding co-chairman of the Biltmore Village Historic Museum, which allowed non-profit funds to be raised for streetscape improvements in the village.
Robert has continued to contribute to Biltmore Village and the City of Asheville. His Design for the McDonalds in Biltmore Village was named the worlds classiest McDonalds. Robert’s offices, Griffin Architects, PA, are currently located in the Historic Clarence Barker Hospital at 1 Village Lane, which he has continued to restore for the past 30 years.

Tour #3, Sponsored by Pine Hall Brick
9:30 - 10:30 AM - South Slope to Southside Walking Tour $25 pp max of 25 attendees
City of Asheville staff along with the project designers will give a tour of the Coxe Avenue Streetscape project in Asheville's South Slope, currently in design, and the recently completed (constructed) Dr. Wesley Grant, Sr. Southside Center in the heart of Asheville's Southside neighborhood.
Join us as we view public projects from various perspectives: from an urban streetscape to a new addition to the Southside neighborhood center and pool.

Location:

9:00 am Attendees will need to drive themselves and be at the Wesley Grant Center, 285 Livingston St, where they will board the trolley for the tour.

At 10:45 am trolley will drop guests off at the Wesley Grant Center.

Lucy Crown

Lucy Crown has enjoyed greenway planning for nearly 25 years. She began her work managing park and greenway projects and has since been incorporating greenways into the multimodal transportation network throughout Asheville. She has a lifelong interest in creating transportation systems that enhance a community’s quality of life. She now manages the Greenway, ADA Transition, and Pedestrian Plans for the City of Asheville.

Dustin Clemens

Throughout his 20+ year career, Dustin has primarily worked in local municipal government, managing a variety of park, transportation and cultural projects. Dustin has spearheaded numerous projects that have garnered acclaim for their ingenuity and sustainability. From transformative streetscape projects to revitalized green spaces, his work reflects a deep respect for the role that the public realm plays in enhancing the human experience.

Peter Wall

Peter Wall is responsible for the oversight of the department's park management & design practices. Peter is a licensed landscape architect with over 20 years experience in park planning and design, university campus development, and resort community planning and design. This expertise has been provided for clients that include a wide spectrum of municipal and county agencies, non-profits, community and neighborhood groups, and private sector development firms. He specializes in improving the public realm in Asheville with an emphasis on the relationship between places and the experiences people desire.

Eric Davis

Eric Davis is vice president at Surface 678. He brings 26 years of experience in landscape design, master planning, recreational design, and community planning. The common thread throughout Eric’s work is a desire to impact the community through the creation of healthier, more enjoyable outdoor environments.

Eric’s expertise is in master planning, creative design, and well-managed construction processes involving complex, multi-disciplinary teams. His park experience ranges from small neighborhood parks to national landmarks. Eric is strongly suited to projects involving public engagement, collaboration with artists, environmental and habitat consultants, and government agency coordination.

Kyle Baugh

With 18 years of experience, Kyle Baugh, PLA has spent his career focusing on urban design, master planning, parks and trails, transit-oriented design, and regional/area planning. He has worked on public- and private-sector projects ranging from award-winning park projects, strategic corridor studies, transit station area planning and design, and large-area land use plans to private mixed-use developments and high school, university, healthcare, and corporate campuses. Kyle’s extensive experience also includes downtown revitalization planning and design work that has led to multiple awards and national recognition. His work has been published nationally as he continues to promote people-focused design in our downtown cores. Kyle has served as an advisor and judge for the national Urban Land Institute (ULI) Hines Design competition and has been an expert panelist for the Master of Architecture Program at UNCC.

Tour #4, Sponsored by Pine Hall Brick
11:00 - 12:00 PM - River Arts District Transportation Improvement Project (RADTIP) Walking Tour $25 pp max of 25 attendees
The River Arts District Transportation Improvement Project (RADTIP) was completed in June 2021 and spans a 2.2-mile long section of the Wilma Dykeman Greenway from Hill St. and Riverside Drive and to the Amboy Road Bridge. The RADTIP is a major design and construction project to rebuild the transportation network along the east side of the French Broad River in the River Arts District of the City of Asheville, NC. It is the centerpiece of a larger, decade-long effort with the community to renovate the greater River Arts District so that it supports its businesses, residents, artists, and the larger Asheville community’s vision as adopted in the Wilma Dykeman RiverWay Master Plan. The City used the transportation project as a springboard to reconfigure unsafe road intersections for better traffic flow, create a multi-use path along the river, build a new stormwater management network including 2 constructed wetlands for stormwater management, upgrade the area’s power transmission network, provide wide sidewalks for pedestrians, add bike lanes including the City’s first protected bike lane (Lyman Street section), add almost 200 new public parking spaces, provide about 9 acres of new parkland and several new pieces of public art. Funding partners include the US DOT, Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority, the NCDOT, NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund, NC Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, and the City of Asheville.

Tour attendees can expect to hear an overview of the funding process, learn about the detailed community engagement process, understand how the design team addressed health, welfare, and safety, and hear how the City resolved construction challenges that were further impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Location:

11:00 am Attendees will need to drive themselves and be at the Wesley Grant Center, 285 Livingston St, where they will board the trolley for the tour.

At 12:30 pm trolley will drop guests off at the Wesley Grant Center.

Tour #6, sponsored by Vestre
9:45 - 11:15 AM New Belgium Brewery $25 pp max of 25 attendees
At this tour of New Belgium, participants will hear details of the investment in their Asheville, NC brewery including how the former brownfield site was redeveloped, and the success story of this public-private partnership. Participants will gain an understanding of the design and implementation of many innovative stormwater SCMs, the design of stream restoration in an urban setting, brownfield remediation, and planting design with native species. Participants will also learn some of the company’s overarching principles that guide their sustainable business practices and investments. Samples are available for purchase.

Location:
Attendees will need to drive themselves to the brewery.
Arrival time: 9:30 Location: New Belgium Brewing Liquid Center
21 Craven St, Asheville, NC 28806
(we will meet in front of the Liquid Center tasting room)