Schaafsma Design
Flagstaff, Ariz.

Pieter Schaafsma, ASLA, a landscape designer and artist, has spent the last 20 years working in and around the Colorado Plateau, which offers diverse landscape elements ?EUR??,,????'??? stone, earth, wood and plants. He believes landscapes should blend into their surroundings and be built with native materials. Earth disturbed by construction is recycled into the landscape in the form of walls, French drains, patios, berms and swales, then planted with native vegetation. Ideally, rainwater from any structure or hardscapes will be directed to the use of irrigating plants, which should be self-sustaining with little or no outside water source.

Babbitt Pendelton Warehouse, Flagstaff, Ariz.

Pieter Schaafsma designed and built a landscape for this warehouse located on the edge of a ponderosa forest. The building construction took place during a severe drought that killed many mature ponderosa trees. Efforts were made to protect the trees. Through careful management by the property owner, several new trees have been planted to replace those lost. The landscape was designed to harvest rainwater from the roof of the building and directed into a central planting area. Most of the plantings?EUR??,,????'??+chamisa, fernbush, Arizona fescue, pinon and ponderosa pine and Arizona cypress?EUR??,,????'???are native to the Colorado Plateau. The Arizona Native Plant Society presented an award for this landscape for ''Excellence in the use of Native Plants in a Commercial Landscape.''

Heritage Square, Flagstaff

From a dirt parking lot to an urban plaza, this space has undergone many transformations. Schaafsma Design and The WLB Group worked with the developer, the city of Flagstaff and community groups to produce a plan. The site has a two-story retail structure, a large open plaza and amphitheater, drinking fountains, planters and artist-made iron benches. Underground parking replaces the spaces lost to the new plaza. Schaafsma Design built a drinking fountain using a large native boulder, installed irrigation lines and waterproofed the brick planters. Elements include stone bollards, Moenkopi sandstone and obsidian replicas of property markers. The flagpole base replicates the geology of the Grand Canyon. A mosaic of a railroad track and a wavy timeline with brass plaques note Flagstaff facts. All plantings are native. Project materials?EUR??,,????'???brick, stone and iron?EUR??,,????'???are all commonly found in the area.

Cliff House Residence, Flagstaff, Arizona

The residence is at the foot of a tall basalt cliff in a canyon. The terrain is forested with volcanic stone formations. The stone used on site came from the project area and built walls and steps. The plant palette is primarily native or drought?EUR??,,????'???tolerant. Runoff from the house was directed into the landscape. The areas disturbed by construction were seeded with native grasses, wildflowers and top?EUR??,,????'???dressed with bark mulch. Photographs of this landscape were published in Stone Features this summer by a Chinese book publisher.