In 1961, NASA moved its manned spacecraft to Houston, Texas, giving the city the notable title of Space City, USA. Houston's influence in the state of Texas, the United States and the world is matched only by its influence on space travel.

The creation of the Garden of Spheres was inspired by the rich geographical, historical, and cultural diversity of the City of Houston juxtaposed against the importance of Houston's leadership space exploration. "The design includes ten (10) different garden spaces representing the layout of the solar system with a center Sun Plaza and nine (9) additional garden spaces, each representing a specific planet. In addition granite sculpture designed by artist Jesus Moroles that will be integrated into each garden space, the gardens themselves utilize different materials and colors commonly seen in Houston to create a figurative representation of each planet"- as stated by the chief designer Wen-ping Hung.

The design application for each garden 'space' will utilize various plant and building material colors, textures, and types to form a figurative design for each planet. An emphasis will be given to plant and building materials available in the Shenzhen area that are complementary to the landscape materials found and used in Houston.

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