When first approached, the property looked as if very little had changed in eighty years. Everything about it reflected an interest in summer breezes and beaches rather than labor-intensive gardening. In dramatic contrast, the new owner’s primary interest was in entertaining within a landscaped environment.
The final plan reconciles competing space requirements by relocating all driveway, drop-off and parking functions to the property’s edge. It is an efficient, compact arrangement that preserves a significant area for formal gardens. The front yard is now a circular entertainment lawn framed by formal rose gardens—the owner’s passion. The formality is carried around the house through a series of garden “rooms” and “doorways,” each serving a specific function, yet all strongly connected with axis lines and view corridors. Gates, portal, treillage and arbors help to define each garden room’s edges, walls and entrances. Carefully selected antique garden objects such as urns, statuary and obelisks are employed provide points of interest beyond the horticultural delights. Of particular interest are the rose arches inspired by Monet’s garden in Giverny, France. This lush garden environment provides its owner with hours of visual and spiritual enjoyment each day, yet also has accommodated numerous outdoor fundraising events with up to 500 guests.
Vi Living (Formerly Classic Residence By Hyatt)
The Classic Residence by Hyatt in Palo Alto provides seniors with independent and assisted living facilities. The roughly 19-acre site is adjacent to the San Francisquito Creek, a shopping mall, Ronald McDonald House, and Stanford West Apartments. Hyatt has been working closely with us as well as the City of Palo Alto and Stanford University to develop the si...
101 Warren
Perched atop a two-story structure, towered over by a connecting residential high rise and surrounded by studio apartments, this unique urban pine forest stands in a bed of low-hanging fog and reaches to the clear skies above. One hundred and one white pines, planted in a loose formation of elliptical mounds, seem cast adrift in a sea of washed river stone. Dw...
Stanford Toyon Hall
Toyon Hall, a significant historic building originally designed by Bakewell and Brown Architects in 1922, is a three-story structure centered around a magnificent formal courtyard with arcades and arches. The purpose of the project was to preserve, maintain and enhance the building and site. Our scope of work included evaluation of existing site conditions and...
Sky Terrace at the Grand Millenium
Located on a penthouse located on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, the terrace offers stunning panoramic views of Midtown, Central Park, Broadway, the East River, and the Hudson River. The design takes advantage of this prime location with glass parapets and low planters for unhindered views.
Cantilevered ten feet above the deck is the main feature of the t...