CONQUERING CHALLENGES
Transforming A Sloped Yard into a Party Paradise
By Jill Odom
ROSSEN LANDSCAPE, BASED IN Great Falls, Virginia, was tasked with creating a space for major entertaining. The end result was a sleek, modern outdoor living space.
On top of winning a Silver Award of
Excellence for the overall project, Rossen Landscape also received an Exceptional Feature Award for the outdoor lighting complimenting the stonework. Previously, the backyard was unusable
due to a hill and parts of the lawn would remain wet. The clients held multiple fundraisers yearly but it was difficult to host anyone without any level space. The topography of the site was the most challenging aspect of the project. Over 9 feet of grade was over the pool and another 12 feet dropped towards the opposite end of the house. To craft usable spaces for the home-
owner, the Rossen team added a series of retaining walls, boulders and stepped patios that led from one area to the next. The retaining walls also helped create separate ‘rooms’ for guests to enjoy. These parties feature anywhere
from 50 to 100 guests, so the retaining walls pulled double-duty as additional seating.
The existing deck was narrow, and
the screen room attached to the house didn’t offer a lot of flow from the kitchen to the rest of the yard. The new design uses the house as a background, and the screen room was modified with a phantom screen on both sides leaving the space open to all sides of the yard. Also, a galley counter kitchen keeps the pathway open for flow and acces- sibility to all areas. Rossen Landscape also included a cantilevered pergola to keep a large open area where tables can moved around.
Rossen Landscape worked with a civil
Photos: Morgan Howarth Photography
engineer to design the country-required drainage to be a containment system instead of a trench. This freed up addi- tional space and allowed them to keep a running track of turf around the pool for the family dog, per the client’s request. Throughout the project, the outdoor lighting is strategically placed to extend the usability of the space and highlight the linear design of the project. TE
Enter for the Awards of Excellence in February.
National Association of Landscape Professionals 31
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
