Land In Form + Function

Energy Efficient Landscape

D. Buckley — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 20:57:19 +0000

There are some interesting developments on alternative energy in Dallas and I wonder what the effect will be for future landscape design. Oncor plans to install 850 miles of transmission lines from West Texas windmills to recharge electric vehicles in Texas. Dallas has a recharging station that opened on September 2010 at the Half-Price Bookstore on Northwest Highway east of US 75. There are less than a dozen others throughout the metroplex, at least as of this writing.

One thing to consider is how the growing number of recharging stations will affect the urban landscape. Commercial landscapes may include more and more recharge stations amongst other utility configurations. But how do will these recharge stations affect traffic patterns and be incorporated into site design? Is there opportunity here for landscape and urban designers to make a difference (even if these utilities fall under the purview of utility companies)?

Check out the concepts for electric recharge stations by Evoasis, based in the U.S. and the U.K.. The company incorporates electric vehicle Rapid-Charge stations (EVSTAT) into existing parking areas. In some cases, they retrofit abandoned gas stations and other neglected areas to accommodate these stations.

Thinking beyond recharging stations, how can landscape designers plug into the wave of alternative energy? In one application, landscape architect, Walter Hood, designed a campus plan with solar arrays. The large panels are iconic and serve as functional art pieces. The 5000 solar arrays will supply power to student housing. It is a laudable foray into newer territory of alternative energy as functional landscape design.

But landscape designers don’t have to apply renewable energy into design with large gestures. Architects already incorporate energy-efficient methods/tools such as solar panels into building facades. An increasing number of site amenities use energy-efficient LED lighting. Newer concepts show street lighting that draws and stores energy from solar or wind energy by day to be illuminated at night. What about paving? LED and solar-powered pavers are available now. The images below show paver installations with Meteor Solar LED pavers.

Water in the Metroplex Region

D. Buckley — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 23:46:52 +0000

My last post was on xeric gardening, and this will be an important footnote. I recently learned of two interesting reports that discuss future water availability or lack of it. The first study (July 2010) comes from the Natural Resources Defense Council; it’s titled “Climate Change, Water, and Risk: Current Water Demands Are Not Sustainable“. The report claims that certain states in the U.S. are at extreme risk for water depletion by the year 2050 and lists Texas as one of them. Projected climate change scenarios impact precipitation levels and growing population increase water withdrawals to paint a dire picture.

The second report is a joint effort between Ceres and Water Asset Management (October 2010) and is titled “The Ripple Effect: Water Risk in the Municipal Bond Market“. It questions the ability of some of the nation’s utilities to meet the water demands of their citizens through the next 50 years. This study also applied a range of climate scenarios into the water risk computation. Officials from the Tarrant Regional Water District denied the accuracy of the second report which lists Tarrant County (Fort Worth) among its 6 study cases of water utilities in the U.S.; Dallas is the other Texas county in the study. You can read a news article on their response in the Dallas Business Journal, October 28, 2010.

Texas, Water, and Xeric Planting

D. Buckley — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 03:49:03 +0000

How green was my valley. Greener pastures. The grass is always greener on the other side. The all-American lawn is fastidious, well-coiffed, and an appealing shade of emerald. All this speaks to the level of forethought and care owners bestow on their home’s welcome carpet. A perfect lawn means the owner is just another law-abiding citizen who cares about his or her neighborhood and community. An unkempt lawn invites unwelcome attention from the homeowner’s association and scares away prospective home buyers. There is a good chance this owner is fringe element, has several aliases, and is readying for Armageddon.

But green isn’t always “green”. Think about how much fertilizer, weed killer, and water must be applied to certain lawns to maintain that desired clean, deep green look. Multiply that by the number of households with owners determined to put their best lawn forward. It is a cumulative effect. Let’s focus on water for now. In Texas, that is a critical issue. In the Dallas-Fort Worth region, water for landscaping is already regulated during the summer months to specific times and watering methods. The DFW region has expanded over the past several decades and will most likely continue to expand at a rapid rate. Water availability is and will become even more crucial.

So with all that in mind, how can landscape architects and designers, AND homeowners better develop more water-sensitive residential design?

1. Implement xeric and native planting instead. Try drought-tolerant ornamental grasses or forbs and wildflowers. This will reduce irrigation needs. That’s not just good for the regional perspective, it’s budget-friendly.

2. Use a drought-tolerant species of grass such as buffalo grass or blue grama, depending on where you are located. Native American Seed has xeric plant and grass mixes appropriate for Texas lawns.

3. Invest in a rain barrel system to supplement your irrigation needs. If you like to think of yourself as technically advanced, then go for a graywater system. This may relegate you to the fringe in your neighbors’ eyes, but you will know you are doing good and your plants will be watered.

4. You just have to have that green, green lawn. So why not reduce its footprint by adding large areas of xeric planting. How much room does little Johny or Susie need to play catch anyway? You might as well take them to the park where they can’t throw the football through the neighbors’ windows.

Metroplex Industry and Sustainable Design

D. Buckley — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:39:17 +0000

Dallas Industrial Landscape, Courtesy of Google Earth 2010

What would happen if we started applying sustainable design practices to the least aesthetic of places? Industry is zoned separately from residential areas. They are relegated to the status of an economically useful eyesore. Their close proximity is bound to reduce property values. Making them beautiful would be a challenge. But what if we were a little less ambitious and just made them “not so ugly”? And we could gain some additional benefits along the way.

Typical industrial building are utilitarian in appearance; no obligation to the eye of the beholder equals reduced cost in design fluff. There are two significant methods from the landscape architect’s design tool box that can minimize long-term cost: green roofs and native plants. There are others, but let’s start with these.

Ford Dearborn Truck Assembly Plant, Dearborn, Michigan, Courtesy of Ford Motor Co.

Green roofs have already been implemented in an industrial setting. Consider the Ford Dearborn Assembly Plant in Dearborn, Michigan. At 10.4 acres, it was, at one point, the largest green roof in the world. The initial cost is higher than traditional roof installation. But the long-term costs can be less if designed well. The Michigan plant’s green roof was intended to be an iconic example of sustainable manufacturing. Some of the immediate goals were roof longevity and reducing the need for large retention ponds. The roof contains a mix of sedums chosen for their hardiness in a Michigan climate. Other green roofs can include varieties of native grasses, forbs, and wildflowers. Plant selection will be determined by climate, average rainfall, structural load, among other factors.

Benefits of green roofs:

Stormwater filtration and reduction of runoff volume

Minimizing urban heat island effect

Increasing roof lifespan

Extra insulation in winter, reduced building cooling costs

Noise insulation

Another facet of many light industrial landscapes are vast expanses of irrigated turf and minimal landscaping. Initial costs may be less because of the simplicity of establishing a conventional turf field. A field of native plants can take longer to establish and can look messy if not designed well. But consider the long-term costs associated with lawn care. Conventional lawns require four things to maintain the “lawn aesthetic” expected by the public: irrigation, fertilizer, weed killers, and regular mowing. Over the years, the costs can be considerable, as well as the accumulative effect of the chemical additives. An alternative solution is a minimalistic landscape of native plants, preferably drought-tolerant. Once established, the maintenance is reduced from weekly or bi-weekly mowings to 2-5 days of upkeep a year, dependent of the varieties of chosen. Irrigation is significantly reduced. Since native plants thrive in their regions, the amount of fertilizer needed is reduced, if needed at all. The initial set-up costs, time to establish, and discarding of a cherished aesthetic seem to be the major hurdles. The pictures below show masses of grasses native to our dry Texas region, and adapted to require much less water. These examples are minimalistic in design, yet they provide an appealing naturalistic look.

North Texans must struggle with declining water capacity as our region continues to grow. The price of water will inevitably climb. Operating buildings in extreme weather can be costly. Adopting these sustainable design practices is a benefit for the region and for those commercial land owners who must foot those bills.

More Design with Recycled Glass: Cao Perrot Studio

D. Buckley — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 22:38:48 +0000

I recently corresponded with the landscape designer, Andy Cao, but it was after I posted my last blog on recycled glass design in the landscape. He is one half of the artist and landscape duo known as Cao-Perrot Studio. The other half is Xavier Perrot who is based in Paris, France. Their firm also includes artist photographer and creative consultant, Stephen Jerrome. Andy generously offered some photos of past work using recycled glass cullet, so I thought I would share them with you in a new post. They work with various materials, not just glass. But for this post, I want to focus on the use of glass which I feel enhances the effects of light within a landscape design. Of all the recycled materials to use in a sustainable design, I find glass to be the most attractive.

The “Glass Garden” seen below was created in 1998 with 45 tons of recycled glass cullet in colors of blue and white. The white cone-shaped piles are reminiscent of salt farms located in central Vietnam. Simple colors, unexpected shapes, and luminescent glass add to the dreamlike quality that is representative of the firm’s design philosophy. The garden is located in a private residence in Los Angeles, California.

Design by Cao Perrot Studio, photo by Stephen Jerrome

This design “Desert Sea” is from the Chaumont-sur-Loire International Garden Festival in 2001. It was selected to represent the festival’s Mosaic Culture theme. Cao-Perrot Studio used recycled glass of various sizes including cullet, marbles, and hand-blown bubbles.

Design by Cao Perrot Studio, photo by Alexandre Bailhache

If you live in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex area, they are scheduled to reveal the latest of their public art displays at New Grand Prairie Central Park on the 28th of this month. The project, “Willow Tree”, will be installed in the lake and will have close to 80,000 leaves made of mother-of-pearls. I plan on seeing it.

Designing with recycled glass

D. Buckley — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 18:24:37 +0000

I thought I’d explore and present various ways that recycled glass can be used to enhance landscape design. Using recycled materials in construction and design is a wonderful way be sustainable and elevate points in a LEED project. Glass has qualities of reflection and iridescence, and comes in a wide variety of colors. The more common hues are clear, brown, and green.

Design by Fern Alder and David Griseley; photo by Fern Alder

Here is one of my favorite examples of the artistic use of recycled glass in the landscape. It is a design collaboration by United Kingdom landscape designer and horticultural designer, Fern Alder, with David Griseley. Fern has won numerous design competitions for her garden displays which often feature the use of recycled glass. The design in these pictures show her entry for a 2004 competition “21st Century English Garden – to include glass”. The winning entry is in France, within the town of Bitche. Recycled blue cullet forms a vivid blue carpet on the ground. From above, is a whimsical chandelier of blue glass. Glass balls of various shades of blue float in the circular fountains that form the centerpiece of the garden display. Even the wall arcs contain clear blue glass bottles interspersed between the wood logs.

Fern Alder’s Website

Design and photo by Miller Company Landscape Architects

Located in Oakland, California is an historic cannery building that has been redesigned into residential units known as the Pacific Cannery Lofts. The sustainable design by Miller Company Landscape Architects features the “Gallery”, a 350 ft corridor linking several courtyards. The wavy lines are LED lights that provide illumination under layers of recycled glass inside linear concrete rills. Stormwater is captured and directed into these rills where it is cleansed before reaching the soil. I like the way glass and light are combined to complement the evening lighting scheme.

Design by Ecos Environmental Design, Inc.

I thought this design by Ecos Environmental Design is a good example of using recycled glass for landscape design in a high-level public arena. The Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center Plaza in Georgia contains wide swaths of blue and green glass cullet that form a colorful mosaic. Rather than functioning as a mulch, the glass patterns are decorative elements. The repetitive patterns formed by glass and native grasses highlight the color contrast between the glass and the grass. The extensive use of this recycled material also reduces the amount of irrigation needed.

Design by Stephen Breaux, ASLA, Built by Texascapes

This is Hyde Park Grill restaurant in Austin, Texas. Stephen Breaux, and Texascapes design/build firm, laid recycled glass as the foundation for sculptural grasses and cacti. The glass cullet functions as a mulch and a decorative element. An interesting note is that the city of Austin provides recycled, tumbled glass mulch or cullet to its residents for free.

Installation and Photo by Numen Development

The last example shows the glass directly incorporated within a construction product. This is a FilterPave system (by Presto Geosystems) consisting of 70-80% recycled glass. It is permeable, allowing stormwater to seep into voids and reducing runoff. This driveway is next to the Cordell Shipping Container House, a sustainable design from the collaboration of architect Christopher Robertson, and developers Katie Nichols and John Walker of Numen Development.

Image Source Location

Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center Plaza

Great Trinity Forest and Groundwork Dallas

D. Buckley — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 21:09:35 +0000

Photo by Evergreen Land Company

South of Dallas lies a precious natural feature and a Metroplex treasure: the Great Trinity Forest (GTF). Over 6000 acres, it is also the largest American urban, bottomland, hardwood forest, and is part of the Trinity River Corridor. The forest contains species such as Cottonwood, Cedar Elm, Pecan, Ash, Walnut, Sycamore, and Bur Oak. Wildlife depend upon it for habitat and as a migration point for certain species of birds and butterflies.

A natural feature in a fast-growing metropolis needs friends. Luckily, the GTF has friends and one of them is Groundwork Dallas. And as a landscape designer, I wanted to give salutations to those involved with landscape preservation, whether designed or not. They have a commendable element of community involvement. Groundwork Dallas works closely with other organizations: City of Dallas, Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Park Service. I spoke with its executive director, Casie Pierce, about the work they are doing to help preserve this forest gem. She is a wealth of information, enough to fill several blogs. (I’ve already made mental plans for some future posts)

Volunteers removing tires from illegal dumping ground. Photo by Casie Pierce

One of the myriad missions of Groundwork Dallas is to encourage the environmental health of the GTF and the economic vitality of the surrounding gateway communities. In order to fuse these two goals, the organization works with the young adults and children of these communities through education programs and volunteer activities to include trail building and cleanup events. Despite the GTF’s designation as a land commodity, it is still subject to pollution from open sources and illegal tire dumping. These citizens and volunteers through other nonprofit groups help keep the encroaching dereliction at bay. These south Dallas communities have enough challenges striving to thrive, and keeping up with the northern Dallasites. It’s a shame that the path of least resistance for tire dumping should find its way into the GTF. Is there a case for environmental justice here?

Dallas Groundwork Website

Designing Urban Spaces, and Beer Gardens

D. Buckley — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 21:11:49 +0000

No, that title is not just to catch your attention. Although the summer heat in Dallas makes me thirsty, I have my water for now. I was just thinking about biergartens, or beer gardens, which my husband keeps telling me is sorely lacking in the Metroplex (I think the Gingerman in uptown comes close though). He is a German expat thanks to me. And he misses the experience of connecting with strangers while sipping a cold one under a full tree canopy. The biergartens he recalls fondly had outside seating where strangers join one another under giant chestnut trees.

Image by Jenn Vargas

We haven’t forayed into many biergartens in the U.S. The ones we have seen don’t offer those essential elements that make a classic biergarten space. The music, lederhosen, and gigantic beer mugs were all in place. But there were no trees, or the tables were all inside.

I went to an Oktoberfest in Fredericksburg, Michigan where all the tables were located under a tent. We were in Munich over two years ago and we visited the “English Garden” biergarten, located next to the lake. It was not the only biergarten next to a natural feature that we visited. We went to one in Nurnberg, located next to a river. Both biergartens were packed with people, many of whom were on their way to or coming from the adjacent natural areas.

So what does all this have to do with landscape architects, apart from the thirsty ones? I think it serves as a reminder to us when planning public spaces. There is something to be said about emphasizing the connection with nature within the urban fabric, and not just with a few well-placed ornamental trees. How often do we interweave the community enterprises with a direct connection to a natural feature (lake, river, forest)? Provided we are not interfering with protected habitats, there is opportunity here.

Image source location

Cultural Landscapes of the Displaced

D. Buckley — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 20:33:03 +0000

I was going to write about the community garden I visited this past Saturday in east Dallas. I will write more about it in another post. The reason is I had an emotional response to this particular garden because it reminded me of someone. Seeing this community garden reminded me of my mom, and how much her garden symbolized for her the country of her birthplace.

My mother kept a garden in our backyard; her plants were typical ingredients for Vietnamese cooking. We lived in the Deep South, so the climate was more conducive to a southeast Asian garden. One plot was a water garden for watercress and other varieties I can’t now recall. She still gardens and tends to the same kinds of plants, albeit she now includes vegetation native to southern states.

As a landscape architect student, I was taught to value native vegetation, water conservation, aesthetics, etc. I can’t say that a heavily water-dependent southeast Asian garden in a southern state meets all those attributes. But I wouldn’t tell her that she should do it another way. I couldn’t. She tends to those plants lovingly and has a connection to the land from which she reaps. I suspect that is true for many people trying to adapt to a new country. Cultural landscapes can have powerful sway.