BACKYARD ENTERTAINMENT PATIO – Saginaw Township, MI

GRAND AWARD — SPECIAL PROJECTS CATEGORY

2010 INDUSTRY AWARDS PROGRAM – Michigan Nursery & Landscape Assoc.

This backyard renovation project met all the owner’s design criteria.  It incorporates light and sound, fire and water, a food prep / grill area, a dining patio, spaces for talking and room for dancing, cooling breezes, and warmth from above.  This patio has worked well for gatherings of over 100 people.

This project utilized our design and project management services over a period of four years and three phases of work.  Our firm coordinated installation of the outdoor living spaces and landscape renovation.  The construction was accomplished by eleven different firms plus their assorted subcontractors.  It was our job to ensure that the work was completed per our designs with top-notch quality of workmanship.

The proportions of the outdoor spaces relate well to those of the home, with the architectural style remaining consistent throughout.  Background colors were carefully selected to work well together and allow for flexibility in flower selection from year to year.

Entrance bed and arbor planted with annuals perennials and shrubs custom entry garden arbor and screen walls for backyard patio privacy.

NORTH CENTER MEDICAL – Saginaw Township, MI

GRAND AWARD — SPECIAL PROJECTS CATEGORY

2006 INDUSTRY AWARDS – Michigan Landscape & Nursery Association (MNLA)

Most commercial projects handle storm water with either an unsightly detention basin or with storage on or below the parking lot.  At North Center Medical, a far better alternative, bio-retention, utilizes the landscape to detain and filter the storm water.  Most visitors see the beautiful garden spaces without realizing their true function.  North Center Medical directs rain water from the roof, sidewalks, and some of the rear parking lot into three bio-retention areas: the employee garden at the northeast corner of the building, the lawn east of the rear parking lot, and the front entrance garden.

EMPLOYEE GARDEN:  At the northeast corner of the building, a secluded garden offers employees a quiet setting for their breaks.  This garden also detains and filters rain water.  The diverse plantings are selected for adaptability to varying soil moisture levels.  Spring is welcomed by an array of tulips, chionodoxa, daffodils, and camassia.  In late spring, the employee garden has iris and roses in bloom.  From summer through fall an impressive display of hibiscus, turtlehead, asters, and daylilies fills the garden.

BIO-RETENTION LAWN:  East of the parking lot, the gently rolling lawn receives runoff from the asphalt and serves as an additional detention area.  Excess water is picked up by an under-drain connected to the storm sewer.

FRONT ENTRANCE GARDEN:  A fountain rock welcomes patients at the main entrance to the doctors’ offices.  The fountain is supplied with rain water from the roof.  After filling the fountain basin, excess roof water is dispersed into the entrance garden landscape.  The landscape between the front of the building and the main (west) parking lot is also a beautiful detention basin.  This rain garden is planted in a diverse mix of shrubs, flowering trees, perennials, and bulbs, but no lawn.  Even the sidewalks slope gently toward the rain gardens so the runoff water can be detained and filtered.  Three rose cultivars and 17 perennial varieties create ever-changing drifts of color throughout the entrance garden.  The low boulder walls conceal the connecting pipes under the entrance sidewalks.  These pipes enable runoff water to disperse into the bio-retention areas.  Up to 6” of water accumulates in the bottoms of the bio-retention beds.

This project has demonstrated that responsible on-site retention of rain water can be integrated into a beautiful planting design.  Besides over 1600 perennials and 90 hardy roses planted across the site, there are 18 tree species and 23 shrub varieties to provide texture and color throughout the seasons.  The project owner and his staff planted over 7500 bulbs in the perennial beds to add color from April to early June.

SAGINAW METAL CASTING OPERATIONS [ SMCO ]

PROJECT ORIGIN:  The initial request was to create an exhibit area in the lobby to explain how wetlands work and why they are important to our environment.  As this project developed, the scope became much more significant.  The plan proposed by SMCO management was to create a wetland diorama in the office lobby.  In addition to an aquarium, we would include diagrams of how a wetland functions, pictures of flora and fauna that live in Michigan wetlands, and why wetlands are critical habitats to protect.  In addition, the landscape outside would be updated to help draw visitors to the lobby entrance.

CONCEPT EVOLUTION:  After some discussion with the SMCO design team, I suggested creating something more significant: rather than create a wetlands display, why don’t we build a working wetland?  The “gumdrop and meatball” landscape in front of the office needed to be replaced anyway.  After a short discussion, everyone realized that an actual wetland outside the lobby would have significantly more impact on visitors than a lobby display.  It was decided that this would be a perfect solution.  Soon we had the approval to start the design work.

My concept for this project was to replace the existing landscape with an entire ecosystem.  This ecosystem would begin with a waste treatment wetland at the west end of the building. After being treated and cleaned in the wetland, the water would flow into a meandering stream running the length of the building.  The stream would end in a pond containing fish, turtles, and other aquatic life.  The water would then be pumped from the pond back to the waterfall at the west end for aeration.  To enhance the appearance of a wetland environment, a boardwalk would be constructed along the edge of the landscape. The design of this boardwalk would provide a number of observation overlooks.  The displays in the lobby would provide additional information for visitors, completing this educational landscape.

This design would allow for a very diverse landscape, typical of a natural environment containing both wetlands and uplands.  Because this would be a working system, regular water testing would provide a data stream showing the effectiveness of this constructed wetland in treating wastewater.

THE DESIGN BEGINS:    The first problem was getting sufficient width in front of the building to create the meandering stream and landscape we envisioned.  To gain an additional seven feet of landscape area, we decided to remove the existing concrete sidewalk.  A new boardwalk was built on top of the roadway .  This provided a pedestrian route for observing the new landscape while leaving adequate space for vehicles.  Our desire for environmentally responsible design extended to the selection of a tropical hardwood called IPE for the construction of the boardwalk.  IPE is naturally rot- resistant, eliminating the need for chemical wood preservatives.  The lumber is harvested from environmentally managed rain forests.

The next concern was the circulation of water.  The overall goal was to minimize the number of pumps to simplify maintenance and keep electrical use low.  There are two circulation systems in this design.  One moves the wastewater from the sewer to the treatment area and the other moves the water from the pond back to the waterfall.  Through careful planning of soil and water elevations, only one pump was needed for each circulation system.  When the grinder pump cycles on, wastewater is pumped from the sanitary sewer to the septic tank.  The anaerobic phase of sewage treatment and clarification begins at this point.  From there, it flows into the constructed wetland.  This is a sub-surface flow wetland, meaning that there is no open water.

FRANKENMUTH RIVER PLACE

As in most commercial developments, hardscape design is of key importance.  It’s the hardscape that sets up the circulation pattern for guests, bringing them to each shop in the development.  FRANKENMUTH RIVER PLACE was no exception in this regard.  Water features were constructed to create the ‘River Place’ theme on this site as well as help to guide pedestrians through this ‘European Village’ shopping center.  In addition, we had to provide access to both public and private boat docks located on the Cass River.

THE GARDEN POND DESIGN:  This water feature is part of the entry courtyard garden.  It is a small waterfall spilling into a quiet pond.  The challenge here was that a bridge had to be constructed over the pond.  The bridge design required a continuous footing through the pond area.  There were three arches placed on this footing to create the bridge over the water.  Because the liner had to be completely concealed, there was no good way to run the liner through these arches.

The best option appeared to be to build the bridge on top of the liner.  Our concerns were properly sequencing the construction and preventing punctures of the liner.  To make construction even more difficult, the bridge had to be useable within one week from the start of excavation, because this was a primary access point to the site.

THE CENTRAL STREAM DESIGN:  The original concept that the architect had was to construct a low barrier wall along the walkways adjacent to the stream to keep people away from the water.  Our vision was to keep the water and landscape accessible so guests could enjoy it more fully.  Fortunately, our vision for this area prevailed.

There were several benefits to eliminating the barrier walls.  One was being able to direct rainwater flows from the sidewalks into the stream.  This saved the expense of installing catch basins and drains in the sidewalks.  A second benefit was creating a more natural look to the entire stream and sidewalk area.  Since the sidewalks were all heated, there was no worry about de-icing salts flowing into the stream or pond.  We also eliminated the expense of an irrigation system by constructing the landscape on top of the liner.

THE MAIN WATERFALL DESIGN:  When pedestrians approach this site from the north, they cross the Cass River via a new bridge.  At the end of this bridge, guests are greeted by the thundering flow of 2400 gallons per minute dropping down a twenty foot high, eighty foot long rapids to the Cass River.  Combined with the Cass River, it provides the visual statement for the ‘Frankenmuth River Place’ theme.

On this part of the project, we faced numerous challenges.  First was the budget.  The original approach was to construct the waterfall with steel reinforced concrete.   As the design progressed, the cost estimates kept getting higher   We finally scrapped the concept calling for concrete, and went to an EPDM liner covered with large (up to five by seven feet) stone slabs.

Second, we had to allow for the potential flooding of the Cass River.  On previous occasions, the flood level has been as much as eighteen feet above normal water levels.  To maximize the ability of this water feature to handle flood waters, massive pieces (up to four tons each) of limestone were used during construction.  To support all this weight, we started with a steel sheet piling driven in at the edge of the river.  This allowed a concrete footing to be poured behind the sheet piling and below the water level of the river.

Third, the effect that we wanted to create required a flow rate of 2400 gallons per minute at 20 feet of vertical head.  This meant two submersible pumps, fifteen horsepower each, had to hidden somewhere.  We designed a pump well with an access hatch into the new boat dock that was being installed adjacent to the base of the waterfall.  From this well, two 10” diameter pipes carried the river water to the top of the waterfall.

With that much water, we had to have a way to disperse the flow at the top of the waterfall or it would look like it was shooting out of a pipe instead of flowing out from under the simulated bridge.  This was accomplished by pouring the “bridge” abutments and foundation to create a dispersal tank.  As the water flows into the bottom of this tank, the velocity drops.  By the time it flows out the top of this tank, it looks like a continuation of the stream from the other side of the “bridge.”

CONCLUSION:  The construction schedule for landscape and hardscape on this project was compressed to two months.  This meant having three landscape contractors, two excavating contractors, and an irrigation contractor on site at the same time.  In addition, the interiors and exteriors of the buildings were still under construction.  This meant a high degree of cooperation from all the trades working on the site.  It also meant a great deal of prior planning on our part.

All the pavement elevations and drainage patterns had to be determined in conjunction with designing the water features.  The limited spaces created tight tolerances, and required a great deal of site supervision to execute.  All the planning paid off in the finished project.

The combination of architecture and special features make guests feel they are in a real European village.  The infrastructure is well hidden and operates with minimal headaches.  As a result, business is good and the owners and tenants are happy.  We faced a lot of challenges with this project, but I’m proud to have been involved.