Mark Your Calendars!

Word from China

"Today the clay bodies have finished drying, and will be sent to the kiln. It is the rainy season now, so the tiles must be put in the workshop. We must wait for them to be completely dry, or they will not be durable. It took one week to for them dry. We still need about ten days to sinter* them, and then water to make them cool. The technology for the gray tiles is traditional, not like glazed tiles, so the process is a little slow."

- Betty Ma of Yanshi Classical Gardens Company 

Shouyangshan Town, Louyang City, Henan Province, China

*sin·ter to make (a powdered material) coalesce into a solid or porous mass by heating it (and usually also compressing it) without liquefaction.

Pick Kok

Roof Finial

Eave Tiles

Eave Tile Details

Drip Tiles

Drip Tile Details

Rooftop Structures

These combined photos show the beginnings of the pavilion rooftop in the Bartel workshop.

The entrance rooftop structure is almost complete. Awaiting tiles.

Pervious Concrete

The patio was poured on Monday.

 Special forms were created for planting.

A small portion of Amidon Street was closed Tuesday morning.

Pervious concrete is a special type of concrete with a high porosity that allows water from precipitation and other sources to pass directly through.

A Grand Entrance

Breaking Ground, Building Friendships

The Groundbreaking Ceremony began with a traditional dance by St. Anthony’s Lion & Dragon Dance Team.

Mayor Carl Brewer issued a proclamation, making May 25-31, 2014 Asian-Pacific American Heritage Week.

The Ceremony took place inside Botanica's New Event Center.

Breaking ground symbolically in a wheel barrow due to wet conditions outside.

From left to right: Cubic Forbes, President of Wichita Chinese Association; Carl Brewer, Mayor of the City of Wichita; Valentina Chappell, President of Wichita Area Sister Cities; Justus Fugate, President of Botanica Board of Trustees; Jayne Milburn (seated), lead donor of the Chinese Garden of Friendship; and Adrienne Rosenberg, Co-Chair of Wichita Area Sister Cities China Committee.

Students of The Independent School sang two songs in Mandarin dedicating the event.

The Wichita Symphony Orchestra – Youth Chamber Players also performed.

Celebration inside. Progress out.