Design Notebook: March 1997

The project was honored in the commercial design/build category by the Associated Landscape Contractors of America.

DESIGN CHALLENGE: The goal was to integrate the vast array of materials the quarry wanted to display into a cohesive landscape that was visually pleasing and encouraged customers to explore the area and to make a purchase. Functional features (i.e., weigh scale, semi-truck traffic and storage, more than 80 storage bins) had to be integrated along with the retail office, display gardens, outdoor seminar space and parking. The project also had to be flexible enough to offer the client the ability to eliminate and/or replace certain display sections when products were discontinued, while still keeping the the site fully operational.

DESIGN SOLUTION: The project was carved into a 25-acre parcel. The perimeter was designated wetlands with some agricultural remnants and juvenile woods, which included sapling oaks, shagbark hickory and basswood. One large maple tree was retained inside the construction limit. Although it created additional challenges, it was deemed an asset to the overall design and site.

Difficulties were created because the project site was lower than the adjacent road by 10 to 15 feet. The existing lay of the property did offer some unique design features that would highlight the quarry’s extensive stone offerings, however. The natural grade allowed for a large amount of retaining wall space and the construction of a lined reflecting pond with a waterfall allowed for the display of quarry materials that can be used adjacent to water features.

The storage and back lots were raised between 3 and 5 feet with enormous quantities of stone materials provided and brought in by the owner. More than 250 tons of assorted slab stone were machined and hand placed around the perimeter of the pond. Forty tons of 8- and 10-inch snap lannon stone and more than 100 tons of assorted color and graded riprap and fieldstone were also displayed as a water edge treatment. The recessed nature of the pond furthered the project’s effectiveness because visitors aren’t aware of the pond’s presence until they actually entered the site and approached the gardens. This created visual interest in the site while providing a safety element for casual onlookers and vehicular traffic.

The design intent for the project separated materials into four groups with the creation of unique gardens, which were linked together with stone and paver walkways and had to be designed so they were functional for "how-to" seminars the client offers customers. The various gardens highlighted water, manmade pavers and retaining wall systems, natural stones and granites, with each garden containing a variety of samples.

Visitors to the site have the opportunity to sit in and envision the gardens as possibilities for their own personal properties. Assorted decorative specimen boulders in the paver garden create an indigenous sculpture as well as a sitting respite. The paver garden is outlined with one paver to create uniformity while separating the paving options available. Retaining walls of natural stone and concrete display goods, minimize the impact of the material storage bins in the area and provide depth and interest for plants and assorted ground cover mulches.

Holey boulders and distinctive pocket perennial gardens break up the expanse of decorative flagstone paving and provide for interest. Patterned and irregular flagstone of assorted varieties (Colorado, New York blue stone, Tennessee flagstone and locally quarried gray and natural buff colored lannon) offer panoramic views along the natural stone promenade. All material is dry laid with an assortment of grouting to demonstrate color and texture alternatives. A granite retaining wall and assorted color granite paving alternatives separate the granite gallery from vehicular traffic and provide a comfortable sitting space for viewing materials.

An electronic pump with more than 70 linear feet of 2-inch PVC pipe spun like a web behind the stone continually circulates the pond water and provides a constant wet washing of the holey boulder waterfall. In addition to the visual element the pond provides, audible sounds from the waterfall and two aerating bubblers resonate throughout the garden. Large lannonstone steppers placed in the shallow end of the pond allow guests to experience the water. As customers maneuver the rocks, they can see different stones available for bottom treatments and water features.

Distinctive shrubs, specimen dwarf evergreens and assorted perennials break up the expanse of stone with explosions of color and fragrance. Plantings which normally provide a strong element in any garden space needed to be minimized per the request of the owner. This was to allow for larger expanses of open ground areas that could be covered with natural stone mulches available to customers at the retail center.

This was an ambitious endeavor requiring cooperation between the landscape architect, the contractor and the owner. The owner needed to trust the landscape architect and the contractor to use materials in an efficient and effective manner and to complete the project in an aggressive time frame allowing the center to open on schedule.