Contemporary Landscape Design, Part 2

This blog is Part Two from the series I created from an article written for the Resource Home Show. Part One focuses on the design process. Part Two looks at what happens after the design process. I use past projects I've done as examples to illustrate how design can become real!

​After Design
The design is the starting point but not the end of the process.  The next step is building it.  It’s also what everyone actually sees.  The best way to show how contemporary landscape design can transform a house is with a few projects I’ve done over the last few years. 
 
Contemporary Contemporary
This is a project that was really exciting and dynamic.  The homeowners had moved to South Orange via a short stay in Manhattan.  They were originally from Ohio and preferred a home with a yard and nature instead of an apartment on the Upper West Side.  When the project started, you literally couldn’t see the front yard due to dozens of Norway Maples dominating it.  Below is a Google Maps image of what the yard looked like before we started. Norway Maples are an invasive species that grow fast and outcompete native hardwoods like red and white oaks.  None of the trees in the front yard were mature and ranged in diameter from 3 inches to 8 inches.  

Once you got pass the overgrowth, the house was very contemporary in style with an asymmetrical layout and a variety of rooflines.  The siding was light gray and had been installed in different orientations. Some walls had vertical lines, others had horizontal lines and still others were diagonal.  Maybe at the time, the different directions were ideal but overtime had come to look disorganized.  The house plan created an “L” shape at the entrance of the house giving it a feel of a semi-courtyard. 

​The previous owners had imposed a planting plan onto this space that didn’t allow it to really express itself. Two trees totally obscured the view of the house.  Two lines of boxwoods anchored the outline but seemed to only hide the house more.  These were all design decisions that prescribed an answer for the space and hadn’t let the site inform it. The result of all of these elements made the house feel closed off and isolated.  

​My first conversations with the owners were about improving the front entrance. I thought that the trees should be removed but they weren’t so sure. In talking about the space, what became apparent was that the front entrance wanted to be wide and open more like an urban plaza.  We talked about places like Union Square at 14thSt in NYC and how European streets can be either streetscapes or pedestrian areas with flexible design elements like removable bollards and lighting. 

​The idea was to let the “L” form breath and let anything that was designed heighten the impact of the space. An image of the final results is below.

​Along with designing the entrance, I assisted in selecting new cladding for the house. We picked a darker gray than the existing siding.  We also used a sustainably harvested hardwood called Tigerwood for portions of the house. 

​This wood selection influenced the material for the front porch as well as with a kitchen renovation we worked on.  

​The boxwoods were replaced with elegant lighting and perennials that add color and texture the entire year.  As for the trees, we replanted as many as we had removed. Instead of using an invasive species that damage the natural ecosystems, we used Riverbirch (an incredible native tree).  

​We pushed them to the edge of the property to help frame the house instead of hide it. The leaves shimmer and move with the wind in a way that has a very relaxing affect on a place.