Nemours Estate Sunken Gardens

The Nemours Estate, located in Wilmington, Delaware is a 200-acre property of a 77-room mansion and French formal gardens inspired by the gardens of Versailles at the Chateau de Versailles. Originally developed by Alfred I. Dupont, the Estate is now open to the public for tours through the mansion and gardens. The Sunken Gardens, built between 1928 and 1932, consist of Italian travertine walls and steps, and Carrara marble statuary. Since the last renovation project of 2009, the Estate had identified a number of new concerns regarding the features and systems. Keast & Hood was engaged to participate in a phased design process to explore the concerns and develop necessary repairs. 

Project scope includes repairs to the Travertine Stone Fountain and pump house structure. The stone fountain repairs addressed the cracked stone bowls and water tanks serving the fountains. Corrective work in the pump house consisted of improvements to the existing pump room door hinges and masonry panels, removal of deteriorated concrete platforms and repairs to the grotto arches. Paramount to the project was the design of new reinforced concrete retaining walls behind the lower historic stone masonry walls of the sloped gardens. Also included as part of the work was dismantling and supporting existing urn sculptures on new foundations.