Size: 210,000 square feet
Type: Horse Farm Landscape
Location: Charlottesville, Virginia
Our architect friends Cecilia and Robert Nichols, from Formwork, asked us to develop a strategy to integrate an existing swimming pool, an old log cabin and a new addition that sit in the middle of a bucolic horse farm in Virginia. A second challenge was to work with the existing grade and take the user from the lowest point, outside the new addition, to the highest, at the pool deck, without greatly affecting natural drainage. We decided to follow the architects’ initiative and extended the two stonewalls that support the addition, out to the landscape. With the help of a third stonewall we were able to support a series of wood decks, concrete steps and concrete terraces, and solved both challenges. The first stonewall became the backdrop for an outdoor kitchen and dining terrace. The second acted as a retaining wall for the bulk of the higher grade and as support for the decks and steps. The third one acted as a lower retaining wall and support for a long wooden bench, steps and the decks. Native trees, shrubs, annuals and groundcovers were used to complement and shape the outdoor spaces and soften hardscape elements. The client also requested a gym pavilion to be built at the edge of an existing forest. The architects and our firm followed a similar strategy, to place, support and landscape the new building.
Landscape Design: Mauricio Del Valle Design
Architecture: Formwork
Horticulture: Michelle Smith Fine Gardening
Lighting Design: G2J
Construction: Ilex
Landscape Installation: Earth Tones
Photography: MDVD