Landscape Architect Articles

2016 Firms of the South: MESA10-04-16 | Feature

MESA
Little Rock, Arkansas

Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality Headquarters, North Little Rock, Arkansas

MESA worked closely with Taggart Foster Currence Gray Architects and Williams & Dean Architects on the new ADEQ Headquarters. MESA was responsible for locating the 125,000 sq. ft. multistory structure on the 10-acre site, planning pedestrian and vehicular circulation, and ensuring the sustainability objectives were met for LEED Gold and Green Globes certifications. Vegetated rooftops, detention basins, permeable paving and bioswales allow stormwater infiltration instead of discharging into the Arkansas River and constructed wetlands. Over 35% of the site has native plantings, which is appropriate for the mixed floodplain plant community in which it resides. Photos: Mark Robertson, FASLA

Garvan Woodland Gardens, Hot Springs, Arkansas

MESA completed a master plan update and construction documents for phase one of Garvan Woodland Garden for the Fay Jones School of Architecture at the University of Arkansas, the state's first public botanical garden. The 200-acre site is a peninsula surrounded by Lake Hamilton and has several miles of shoreline. MESA was the lead design consultant and collaborated closely with Asian garden specialist David Slawson. Phase one consisted of the Garden of the Pine Winds, a rock and stream Asian inspired garden. Features include an entry and parking area, a visitor center, the Woodland Walk with the custom built serpentine canopy bridge, the Moon Bridge and trails, the Great Lawn, boat dock for arrival by water, and numerous infrastructure improvements.

Pritzker Family Children's Zoo, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, Illinois

The children's zoo theme is a "Walk in the Woods," displaying four upper Midwest environments and their animal species: oak savanna (bear), fir-pine-birch (wolf), maple-linden (central core), and mixed floodplain (otter and beaver). There are over 22,000 native plants (200 species) and 600 large trees on site. Greenroofs, stormwater remediation and solar heat reducing strategies were included. MESA Landscape Architects, part of a team that included EHDD Architects, did planning and development of site concepts, design of habitats, common exterior space and street frontage.

Mesa is a design, planning and sustainability consulting practice founded in 1984. MESA provides a full range of services for all project types that includes project consulting, conceptual planning through final design and construction observation and/or management. The firm has successfully served as landscape architects, zoological consultants, planners, architects, horticulturists and project managers on projects ranging from a few thousand dollars to $60 million. Planning and design project types include zoological and botanical gardens, parks and recreation, interpretive centers and sites, site restoration, institutional, community development and revitalization, schools and campuses, residential estates and commercial.

As seen in LASN magazine, October 2016.