Our Landscapes
The area surrounding any building has to be planned as carefully as the building itself. In fact, the best landscapes work with the buildings they surround and are best designed at the same time. Designing a building and the areas around it such that the local landscapes of geology, hydrology, ecology, and culture work together to address design concerns, is a kind of integrated design.
There are two main concerns when it comes to the landscapes around a building: how we shape the landscape and how we cover the landscape. How we choose to answer these questions depends a lot on how we see these areas being used (by people, vehicles, animals), and how it fits into the broader landscape of the site.
How is the landscape around the science center an example of integrated design? For the Cascade Meadow team there were a lot of issues to consider, such as keeping water away from the building, choosing trees, shrubs and grasses, and planning pathways, sidewalks, and areas for vehicle flow and parking. Many of these issues are universal for anyone with a building site.
However, when practicing integrated design, making a plant selection isn’t just about the color or location. Trees or shrubs can reduce the building’s energy use by blocking the hot sun in summer, or slowing cold winds in winter. Other plants can slow storm water run-off and help the water be absorbed more quickly into the ground. Further, by choosing native plants that are adapted to the local environment, maintenance costs can be reduced while benefiting the local wildlife.
Similarly, shaping the landscape can have drastic impacts on the site. The slight rise of a hill or swale can provide a micro-climate for a native shrub, while guiding storm water away from the building and into storm water infiltration basins.
To see a complete list of the storm water features at Cascade Meadow, click here.
To learn more about the benefits of landscaping with native plants, click here.
*Coming Soon* See a diagram highlighting some of the integrated design features of the landscapes surrounding the science center.
