Where the Monarch Butterflies Winter

By Bianca Koenig, ASLA, LEED AP, Wallace Group, San Luis Obispo, Calif..

Visitors to the Monarch Club are swept towards the main entry along a dramatically curving drive. The landscape design and art program celebrate the local Monarch butterfly habitat with thematic sculptures and custom paving designs.
Photos: Elliott Johnson Photography

The Trilogy Central Coast Monarch Club is located at The Woodlands master-planned community in Nipomo, California. Nipomo is on a scenic stretch of the southern Calif. coastal highway (U.S. 101) between Santa Maria and Pismo Beach, just south of San Luis Obispo.

At final build-out, the community will feature more than 1,300 residences, a village center, resort, 45-hole golf course and multi-use trails. The 500-acre development sits atop a sand covered mesa with views towards the Pacific Ocean, located less than two miles west.

A major asset in this coastal climate community is the Monarch butterfly habitat. Here, over 20-acres of eucalyptus trees offer an over-wintering area for migrating monarch butterflies. The landscape design and art program for the Monarch Club actively celebrate this local treasure with thematic sculptures and custom paving designs.

The sculpture court and plaza is organized by a checkered pattern of natural gray and exposed aggregate concrete squares. Each square provides a temporary home for a rotating sculpture exhibit. The building’s natural stone finishes are repeated on site walls and paving finishes. Pavement finishes were also selected for durability, interest, variation, and to meet ADA and U.S. Postal Service requirements.

These specialty installations connect the community to its regional amenities and provides for a memorable experience within this new development.

Throughout the design, architects, interior designers and engineers all worked closely with the project’s landscape architects for a highly collaborative effort. The outdoor paving and structural elements connect with the building architecture and provide a cohesive experience between indoor and outdoor elements. Natural stone finishes on the building are repeated on site walls and paving finishes for a stimulating and visually active pedestrian experience. Pavement finishes were also selected to achieve durability, interest, variation, and meet ADA and U.S. Postal Service requirements.

While traveling along the Monarch Club’s entry drive, visitors may catch a glimpse of the sculpture court. The sculpture court and plaza is organized by a checkered pattern of natural gray and exposed aggregate concrete squares. Each square provides a temporary home for a rotating sculpture exhibit. The client, Shea Homes, partnered with the San Luis Obispo Art Center to showcase local artists on a seasonal basis. Paving patterns and sculpture locations also align with the architectural articulations and custom tile work found in the building’s interior.

At the entry to the Monarch Club is a 30-ft. wide grand monarch butterfly design set in seeded-glass concrete. The colors and patterns of butterfly wings continue throughout the project. Lithocrete paving presented a colorful and effective solution to achieve the custom design pattern.

Visitors to the Monarch Club are swept towards the main entry along a dramatically curving drive and are greeted by custom-designed sculptural totems and a grand monarch butterfly, set in seeded-glass concrete. The colors and patterns of butterfly wings continue throughout the project site in both sculptural and utilitarian forms. From sculptural totems to decorative columns, guests are directed to the main entry along a common theme. In route to the front doors, guest traverse across a 30-foot wide, single butterfly wing set in colored, glass-seeded concrete. The patented Lithocrete paving system provided a colorful and effective solution to achieve the custom design pattern. Once inside the building, guests can discover the butterfly wing mirrored, in custom-patterned, interior finishes.

Trilogy Central Coast Monarch Club

• Owner: Shea Homes Trilogy Central Coast
• Landscape Architecture: Wallace Group
• Architecture: Williams + Paddon
• Interior Designer: Design Lines
• General Contractor: Wespac Construction
• Concrete Contractor: Advanced Concrete & Construction
• Lithocrete Contractor: T.B. Penick & Sons
• Metal Fabricator: JW Steel