PROFESSIONAL LANDSCAPE DESIGN: Creating Walls with Interest

Transforming an unfit yard or commercial property into an optimal outdoor space is often not achieved without the construction of some type of wall, whether it’s a retaining wall or freestanding wall. Traditionally, these structures were installed because they had to be – usually for erosion control purposes.
 
Today, there’s a greater need for maximizing usable yard space thanks to America’s ever-decreasing residential property sizes. Both retaining and freestanding walls are being installed all over, adding architectural interest, creating pathways and planting areas and changing backyards into private outdoor retreats.
 
A home design trends survey conducted in 2006 by the American Institute of Architects indicates that lot sizes are shrinking, but homeowners are using their properties more intensely. Thirty percent of residential architects report an increase in formal lot boundaries, including walls. “It makes sense that with a smaller lot you need to use it differently and improve it better than if you have a big property,” says the AIA’s Chief Economist Kermit Baker. “That’s why we’re seeing an increase in formal lot boundaries and upscale landscaping.”
 
Becky Felling, director of marketing for Keystone Retaining Wall Systems, Minneapolis, says property owners are installing walls for both practical reasons and aesthetics. “More and more they’re used for both form and function,” she says. “In many middle-end homes where there’s a lot of cookie-cutter designs, it’s one thing homeowners do to set themselves apart from their neighbors. On the West Coast, however, there’s just not flat, buildable land. Retaining walls are a necessity to make backyards more usable for families.”
 
Manufacturers say they’ve seen a surge among commercial properties, too. Restaurants, in particular, are interested in creating patios and eating areas. “They like to give boundaries to their seating areas,” says Nancy Johnson, landscape product manager for Anchor Wall Systems, Minnetonka, Minn.
 
Whatever the purpose of the wall,  landscape architects and designers should strive for creativity in wall design. Not only is there a greater selection of materials available for use now, but the HGTV phenomenon will only increase homeowner’s awareness of what the Joneses are building next door.
 
“There are more options available,” says landscape designer Diane Bloom of Bloom Gardens in Richmond, Calif. “You can offer clients so much more with retaining walls. You can incorporate flagstone benches or flat surfaces for plants and pots.”
 
NATURALIZER. Walls are constructed from a variety of materials including stone, timber, poured concrete or manufactured concrete blocks, often referred to as segmental retaining wall systems (SRWs).
 
The function of a wall should be a designer’s first consideration when selecting a material. Budget and aesthetics should follow. “The nature of what you’re trying to retain will dictate what material you’ll use,” says Andy White, president and landscape designer, Wayside Landscape Services, Ashville, N.C. Often, retaining walls more than 4 feet tall require approval by an engineer; anything less than 4 feet is probably a cosmetic element like a garden wall, he explains.
 
While it’s not necessarily a new trend, consumers continue to request natural – or natural-looking – materials when it comes to retaining and freestanding wall design.
 
Natural stone is often the product of choice, and the specific types of stone clients prefer is largely based on the region where they live. Native stone is popular not only because it typically blends well with an area’s landscape and architectural styles, but it also eliminates the high cost of shipping in materials from outside the region.
 
Not only are stone walls aesthetically desirable, they’re extremely reliable when they’re properly designed and constructed. Although they’re the most expensive option, ranging in price from $55 to $75 per finished face foot, they’re built to last “lifetimes,” contractors say.
 
“There are natural stone walls still standing that the Romans built,”  White points out. Because budget is always one of clients’ top concerns, White says designers should consider longevity before they help their clients select a material. 
 
Consumers are often attracted to the warm, rustic appearance of wooden retaining walls (commonly constructed from pressure-treated lumber) and their tendency to be inexpensive, starting at about $15 per finished face foot. Depending on the type of material used and climate, these walls may have to be replaced in15 years, contractors say. “Over the course of a person’s life they may have to replace it several times,” White says. “If they would have put in a masonry wall it would have lasted their whole life.”
 
A third option for retaining and freestanding walls is manufactured concrete block-based products, which range in price from about $15 to $40 per finished face foot. Designers once lamented SRWs, introduced as an affordable alternative to stone, for their institutional, “parking garage” look. Manufacturers have responded with increasingly natural-looking products over the years.
 
“They’re adding a lot of color to the mix so it looks more like stone, blocks are tumbled or distressed in some way so they look more natural,” White says. “I expect that trend to continue.”
 
Shape and color have been the manufacturers’ focus. In addition, many of these products are now available for use as freestanding units.
 
“Our newest shapes have been much softer, whereas a traditional concrete product was hard-angled with a sharp-looking edge,” says Anchor Wall’s Johnson. “We’ve also had requests for products with multiple face widths and heights. It’s more similar to natural stone, which comes in lots of different sizes.”
 
Keystone’s Felling agrees. “What’s really come about over the last five years is the antiqued tumbled look,” she says. “Homeowners in the middle end want the natural-stone look, but most can’t afford a $50,000 wall in the backyard.”
 
In addition to a push for the natural, designers are adding a variety of upscale elements like lighting, columns and caps as another way to provide a well-designed, finished look.
 
Any way designers can stylize a stone or concrete wall will add interest for the client. “If you can do a job with some artistic value, you can create a niche,” Bloom says. “And that’s better advertising for you.”