“The garden at 654 Minnesota was commissioned as a public art installation, a work of art that is constantly transforming....The premise in ethos and plant selection was a medicinal garden.”

Topher Delaney and Calvin Chin

Artists gardeners 

‌Delaney + Chin    

July 31, 2024

The Garden's Gift  

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‌Did you know the 654 Minnesota Street building features a garden that serves as public art? This week, we talked with Topher Delaney, the artist-gardener of Delaney + Chin, along with partner Calvin Chin. In around 2008, they created the medicinal garden surrounding the 654 Minnesota building perimeter, a building that houses several FAS departments (SVCO, Real Estate, HR, Campus Life Services, IT, Police Department, Emergency Command Center and Emergency Management), School of Medicine Tech and UCSF Science and Health Education Partnership (SEP) program. “My favorite thing about the garden is that it’s growing along with us, bringing ambiance from outside to inside,” says Marina Taruch, a professional mechanical engineer for Facilities Services and long-time 654 Minnesota Street building resident . “It’s like aromatherapy – just walk around and sniff.”

Tell us the history of the medicinal garden at 654 Minnesota. 

The garden was commissioned as a public art installation, a work of art that is constantly transforming. When Delaney + Chin was commissioned to create this art installation, our studio was just a few blocks away. We knew the area well and all the people in the community. The premise in ethos and plant selection was a medicinal garden. The garden provides multiple biodiversities of the medicinal plants, designed for their unique bioclimate and in partnership with the bold colors of the building designed by the Colour Studio. 

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‌I created and constructed the garden as a collection of plants in honor of UCSF as an educational institution. The plants reference the different compass points of sun and shade; specific plants are selected for the east side, south side, west side, and north side of the building. With the new construction on the west side of the building along Indiana Street, the patterns of sun and shade changed dramatically. We transplanted the plants to accommodate this shift in environmental conditions. The metal panels protect the plants from animals and serve as interlocking dynamic forms framing the beautiful plants. The lawn was removed and replaced with gravel to reflect low water use and accessibility for pedestrians, widening the perception of a narrow walkway. 

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‌The local community requested that all existing trees be retained. I integrated the existing Japanese maples and Gingko Bilobas into the art installation. These trees offer a significant habitat for our avian community. There are many nests in the Japanese maples along 19th Street.

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What was the reaction from the community?  

People stop to enjoy and study the garden all day long. One day as I was pruning the roses along 19th Street, a couple with their baby came by and said they moved to this neighborhood because of the garden, something they found lacking in the area. They said the diversity of plants shows that someone who loves the garden takes care of it.

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‌Who tends the garden?  

Cruz is the main gardener at 654. He loves his work and is very knowledgeable. It makes him proud because it’s a public art garden. Calvin and I believe that such a garden is very important to the well-being of our community, and we all give it our best.

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‌See the before and after photo gallery and extra photos in Box. 

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FAVORITE COOKIE JAR TREAT

Topher – Rainbow Grocery flourless chocolate cake 

‌Calvin – Apples

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