New ideas are bubbling up to make outdoor landscapes as sustainable as the highly efficient buildings they complement. Part of the movement stems from landscape architects (see Snap Back, below), while other aspects are rooted in the work of innovative manufacturers. Some new products decidedly look the part, such as Stone Forest’s “Natural Millstone” water feature (pictured), which merges contemporary design and Japanese tradition for a simple, organic result. Others may not betray their environmentally preferable nature – and many simply aren’t visible at all, instead working silently underground to protect water supplies, soils, and native flora. Most promising, however, are the landscape ideas that work in harmony with green-building concepts, such as vegetative roofs and rainwater harvesting.
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Guiding Grid Manufacturer: Feeney Architectural Products Performance: Type 316 stainless steel Price range: $$ Applications: The wall-mounted Somerset Trellis is available in seven standard heights from 4’ to 10’. Aluminum angle brackets at top and bottom hold 1/8’’ stainless-steel cables and matching cross-clamps in place. |
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Racking Up a Win Manufacturer: Forms+Surfaces Performance: No-VOC finish Price range: $$–$$$ Applications: The Trio bike rack complements the product line of the same name, echoing the triangular void in the Trio bench. Cast aluminum body with a powdercoat finish is up to 95% recycled content and is fully recyclable. |
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Multifaceted Manufacturer: Kornegay Design Performance: Low water content for freeze-thaw cycles Price range: $$$ Applications: The Quartz Series of planters, designed by acclaimed Phoenix artisan Larry Kornegay, shown in custom integral colors: azurite, citrine, topaz, and amethyst. Natural gray and 1’’ drainage holes are standard. Lead time of 8–16 weeks. |
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Simple and Stately Manufacturer: Landscape Forms Performance: High-efficiency LED optional Price range: $$ Applications: Cast aluminum sleeve mounts over 6’’ steel pipe, available with or without warm white LED lighting through celery-colored lens. May be embedded in 18’’ of concrete or surface-mounted. |
Catherine
Benotto, AIA
Principal, Weber Thompson, Seattle "With the new green-wall and living-wall systems, there are more options for architects to integrate plants intentionally into their building elevations. These systems, while pricey, are a great way to add green to very tight urban sites. The planting containers are essentially vertically applied green-roof systems and come preplanted with drip irrigation as part of the system. The patterns created by the selection of plants can make unique and dramatic statements, upping the wow factor." |
David Carlson,
ASLA, CLARB
Landscape Architect, KlingStubbins, Philadelphia "The advanced turf system, known as ATS, consists of thousands of small interlocking fiber-mesh elements blended into a specially prepared root zone, which can provide a stabilized emergency access lane without unsightly, modular paver blocks. The result: a more visually appealing system with a high load-bearing capability, which resists rutting and drains rapidly. Supported by decades of research and numerous published papers, ATS is limited only by the area and by the incorporated plants’ ability to withstand vehicle traffic." |
Richard C. Handlen, AIA
Principal, Senior Vice President, EDI Architecture, Inc., San Francisco "The front yard—currently a no-man’s land of unused, demanding, thirsty lawns—can be given new life with proper landscaping. Along with side yards, the front can establish a sense of territorial ownership, or provide actual privacy. Proper paving, fencing, trellises, and narrow plantings can create privacy; hedges or low fences can give a sense of ownership whereas higher fences offer complete privacy. French or sliding doors can open a stuffy bedroom or office into an unused side yard—a potential oasis." |
 Living Proof: At Chicago's Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, green roofs are integrated with living walls and native display gardens. Photo: Conservation Design Forum |
The American
Society of Landscape Architects
(ASLA) launched its Sustainable Sites Initiative (SSI, www.sustainablesites.org) with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in 2005 to codify what practitioners have long known: that local conditions and a sense of place should always inform landscape, water features, and outdoor materials and forms. “Adapt your vision to local ecology, history, culture, and climate, and incorporate locally available crafts and artisans to promote beauty as an essential aspect of sustainability,” says SSI technical advisor David J. Yocca, ASLA, LEED AP, principal of Conservation Design Forum, Chicago.
More Advice:
Get Wet.
“Manage rainwater where it falls, and incorporate locally adapted, multipurpose green infrastructure to slow, cool, cleanse, and make available this water.”
Stay Real.
“Materials should be derived locally and be durable, long-lasting, and well-crafted. Incorporate multiple-benefit materials such as porous pavement, bioretention gardens, and constructed wetlands. They’re functional, beautiful, and authentic amenities.”
Go Native.
“Use plant species best adapted to the existing or new habitat. If it’s not suited to native species or is contrived in some way, then a more horticultural approach will be successful. Avoid invasive plants altogether.”
Dig Dirt.
“The original soil structure and organic material, or topsoil, should be preserved and treated with care. If the soil is compacted – or reshuffled as in mass grading operations – instead of native vegetation, all that will thrive are ubiquitous weeds that can tolerate disturbed conditions.”
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