San Francisco Residence

This was a design/build project done with our partner construction company Bertotti Landscaping. The project was designed and completed in under 3 weeks. Project elements included paving, lighting, trellis, planting, irrigation and railing design and construction. Native plants were featured in a formal landscape design that highlights unique and special native plants. A dense hedge and fence were installed to provide a sense of privacy and protection from the adjacent public park.

Widinski Residence

A private residence in Marin County featuring mostly native plantings and a decommissioned swimming pool converted to an ornamental pond. Existing mature plantings were preserved wherever possible, and a recirculating waterway and falls provides pond aeration and an attractive view. The landscape also serves as the waiting room viewshed for a small home office.

Kenwood Residence

This new home on 5 acres in eastern Sonoma County features rammed earth construction, solar energy, rainwater irrigation system, and a landscape of native and edible plants. The landscape is designed in the permaculture style and includes a chicken coop, tropical greenhouse, almond orchard, and keyhole vegetable garden. Three acres were seeded in native grasses, and 1200 linear feet of infiltration swales control surface runoff and prevent erosion. Native plant holes were innoculated with forest soils from the site and a habitat pond is gracefully placed at the entrance with a stone bench to complement hand shaped flagstone paving. This landscape has been featured in many publications, including Natural Home Magazine, Good Green Kitchens by  and The Not So Big House by Jennifer Roberts, and the television show Planet Green.

Malibu Condominium

This luxury residential building is proposed along the Pacific Coast Highway and features native plant landscapes, graywater re-use, rainwater harvesting, and a living roof. Project completion date is estimated for 2011.

“images courtesy of Caesar Pelli Associates”

Bancroft Hotel

This landscape and integrated water management design are part of renovations occurring on this historic hotel adjacent to the UC Berkeley campus. Through a partnership with the UC Botanical Garden, site-specific native plants have been selected to replace exotic plant material and showcase the potential for native species in an ornamental setting. A proposed graywater system treats wastewater from laundry services for reuse in irrigation. Rainwater will be collected in rain barrels located throughout the site, creating an interesting visual component and providing transparency for the ecological design elements of the project.

West Coast Green

A major demonstration landscape was designed and installed for the largest green conference on the west coast. Living walls were planted with native plants and installed at all main speaker stages. To create a pedestrian link between two large exhibit halls a promenade was defined by a large bamboo structure. Building entrances were punctuated with mature olive trees, native alders, edible plants and recycled colored glass mulch. Green products were showcased including Floating Habitat Islands, Native Grass Sod, Reclaimed Lumber, and Bamboo. The design incorporated biological stormwater mitigation including rain gardens, hanging gardens, and vegetated biofiltration islands for in-situ water treatment. These solutions were presented as a hierarchy of treatment solutions and showcased the potential for the use of synthetic vegetative media to filter a polluted water body. This highly successful installation was covered by ABC News and several blogs including InHabitat.

Kepler Residence