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LOCATION Palmetto Dunes, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
DEVELOPER Mariner’s Inn Association, Inc. Charles Fraser
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Robert E. Marvin & Associates Walterboro, South Carolina
ARCHITECTS Collins & Kronstadt Silver Springs, Maryland
CONSULTING ENGINEERS Hussey, Gay & Bell Savannah, Georgia
LANDSCAPE CONTRACTOR The Greenery, Inc.
The design objective of the Mariner’s Inn Development was to preserve the natural beauty of the dunes and maritime forest while developing a 324 unit, five-story condominium, hotel and educational centers. The site was only 15 acres and the program required 324 cars, roads and outdoor amenities. The program for the educational complex and amenity facilities required a close relationship to the outside for expanded utilization of the buildings.
The first great hurdle was the actual construction of the massive buildings. The building could not be visible from the beach, except above the tree canopy, yet each required an ocean view. The construction process required a 20-footwide movable crane to move around the edges of the buildings. A design solution evolved that allowed this strip to be cleared for vistas from the units and protect the remaining trees. These strips were later changed into lagoons that separate the balconies from the tree covered island amenities.
Bridges were designed to cross from the building over to the islands in the center creating a tropical atmosphere. The second great hurdle was to place 324 spaces for cars on the tight site, yet preserve the dunes and trees from destruction. The solution became obvious. The roadways would follow the dune troughs and parking spaces would project out from the road between the existing trees. Therefore the dunes with large oaks were saved and the trough trees were saved between the spaces. The final project gave the illusion of parking between the dunes under a complete canopy of trees. The building’s adjacent forest was preserved as a buffer against the neighboring projects and to screen the high rise building.
Fewer than ten percent of the existing trees in the parking area were removed. Patrons would not have to park in a large hot, expansive, open, asphalt parking lot, but under a complete tree canopy. This preserved woods allowed the guests to look out of their units to a forest cover instead of a large, open parking lot. The upper floors actually look out over the trees to the ocean and see no cars beneath the buildings.
The actual construction of the parking lot required a new, innovative approach for the engineer, surveyor and contractor.
The utilities and services were placed under the cleared roadways and drainage followed the existing land shape by draining into the troughs to be picked up in catch basins.
The amenity program was oriented towards small conference groups that would want to use the outside setting for entertainment, leisure or study. The tree canopy between the two building towers was preserved as an overhead ceiling to keep the area at a human scale and to screen the view across to the other units. The 20-foot cleared strips of land adjacent to the buildings were converted into lagoons that surround two islands accessible only by bridges. The lagoon strips allow views from the balconies to the ocean to remain unobstructed while creating a buffer between the activity area and the hotel balconies.
The first of the two islands was designed for passive use with brick terraces weaving around and under the trees creating intimate areas for small groups. The overall terrace design can be used as one complex for large groups. The active amenities were located on the second island within close proximity of the beach. These amenities include a swimming pool, sun deck, hot tub, sandwich shop and bar adjacent to dining decks overhanging the lagoon and looking out to the ocean.
A new dimension to the hotel experience was an isolated food service deck and oyster roast on a beach front corner of the property. Raised decks under the spreading limbs of a stand of live oaks were designed for outdoor cookouts allowing guests to see the ocean waves and to feel the salt spray while being covered by a complete tree canopy. The deck area was purposely separated from the main complex so that its activities and noise would not disturb the guests.
The overall landscape planting concept was designed to minimize the effect of the buildings by using large masses of the same material to stay in scale with the five story tower. Buffer planting was arranged to give privacy to the intimate areas by screening the views from the walks and balconies. The evergreen ground cover enhanced with colorful plantings acts as a visual carpet for the outdoor areas and a separation of spaces.
Mariner’s Inn is an excellent example of how to maximize opportunities in the natural environment to enhance the program requirements of a big busy resort hotel. Mariner’s Inn proves that large scale structures with imposing construction requirements, high-intensity-use programs and expansive parking can be carefully blended with a vulnerable beach front forest without destroying the environment’s natural qualities. Robert E. Marvin & Associates developed the plans to make the project fit the land rather than force it upon the land. They have preserved many of the natural features of the site and the area its natural ambiance.
The Landscape of the Month is produced by LASN and sponsored by Nightscaping, who donates $50.00 to the Landscape Architectural Foundation for each featured project. Please contact LASN editorial staff before submitting materials for consideration.
In order to protect the trees and the natural dune configuration of the site, Robert E. Marvin & Associates developed a parking system that is sensitive to the natural environment of the site. The design and development of this system is different from the conventional method of parking and storm drainage, thus requiring a thorough explanation of the design criteria and construction process.
The parking is laid out within the bounds of a 75-foot-deep strip. Within this 75-foot-wide strip is a 13-foot-wide, one-way road, 22 feet on each side for angle parking, and 16 feet of extra space to maneuver the alignment, save trees, protect the dunes and leave open space. The parking spaces were placed every sixteen-feet along the roadway in the wooded areas, thus accounting for two cars per eight linear feet of road. The road alignment follows the dune trough and is built with inverted crowns and no curbs; storm water drains to the center of the road and is picked up in drain inlets located at low spots where the natural topography may dictate. From the drain inlets the water is piped out in gravity lines to the existing lagoon. The pipe alignment follows the road bed as much as possible so as not to destroy swaths of vegetation. Other utilities are also placed under the roads.
The parking spaces consist of foot by 21-foot rectangular spaces at 45-degree and 60-degree angles to the roadway. The spaces are not to exceed 12 percent slope lengthwise and 5 percent slope from side to side. A wooden bumper stop is placed in front of each parking space. Spaces are aligned between the trees and sloping back to the roadway for drainage.
A preliminary parking layout is first designed over the existing tree and topographic survey by using the above criteria.
The surveyor comes onto the site and stakes the center line of the roadways as they have been drawn on the preliminary sketch. The Landscape Architect then walks this center line stakeout adjusting the 13-foot roadway and indicating each parking stall in the field. The surveyor then establishes elevations along the center line at 50-foot station points. Each parking space is indicated with elevation points on the front two corners. These elevation points are transferred to the tree survey and used to draw up the parking layout construction pian.
A clearing and drainage plan is then drawn up as a construction document for the clearing and construction of the parking and roadway. The trees to be removed marked by the Landscape Architect in the field and construction takes place under the observation of the Landscape Architect.
This process of developing the parking lot calls for a lot of interrelationships and cooperation between the surveyors, engineers, contractors and Landscape Architect throughout the design layout and construction. This process is much more sensitive to the natural vegetation and topography of the site because it is designed and laid out in the field to fit the natural lay of the land.
Francisco Uviña, University of New Mexico
Hardscape Oasis in Litchfield Park
Ash Nochian, Ph.D. Landscape Architect
November 12th, 2025
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