Located in a quiet, residential neighborhood in Bath, Ohio, LWB Landscape Architecture helped Scott Siddall and his wife Kathy renovate and restore his childhood home. The Mid-century modern styled house was built in 1968 by his late parents and constructed around an existing shagbark hickory tree. The home was sited at the base of a steep hill off of which significant stormwater drainage caused ongoing erosion to the slope and water damage to the home.

Prior to redesign, the fix involved an unsightly French drain stretching from the side of the home into the backyard wood line. Standing water was an ongoing problem, and the inherited landscape left much to be desired. In the backyard, struggling plants in a garden of large rocks attempted to retain earth, trees and shrubs were haphazardly spaced throughout the property, and the incomplete deck renovation left the owners with a discontinued color selection and an unfinished look. The "underwhelming" landscape along with technical grading and drainage issues informed the owners to commission a licensed Landscape Architect, Lindsey W. Baker of LWB Design Landscape Architecture, to help reveal the site's potential.

Baker began by looking at the property as a whole, while an arborist was consulted to develop a long-term plan to maintain the health of the property's woods and aging trees. Preserving the distinct, mature shagbark hickory tree, around which the home was built, was a top priority while other sentimental tree-save requests by the owner were noted and honored.

Enhancing the home's Mid-century modern feel, the landscape accentuates its iconic style by the use of simple materials organized in a geometric framework to create unique transitions, access points, and views into nature. The designed spaces reinforce the modern tenet of blurring the inside and the outside. Preservation of mature trees, drainage issues, and a limited water supply brought into focus the need for sustainable solutions to implement the design vision, therefore, the team utilized water, formed concrete, weathered steel, planted-form and natural stone to create usable and distinct areas making outdoor living on this property a rich and personal experience.

Design Goals and Challenges

 
Drawing upon the distinct Mid-century modern style of architecture, the final landscape design embodies the simple materials of formed concrete, water, weathered steel, and natural rocks. Organized in a geometric framework, these elements define paths, provide directionality, and create outdoor spaces and views while supporting this design aesthetic. Plant materials enhance and support the linearity and movement of sliding planes from front yard to backyard while defining views, providing privacy, and adding a softer texture to the home.

Low voltage landscape lighting is an integral part of the overall design. In addition to extending the use of the outdoor living space into twilight and evening hours, the lights accent the unique design features of the landscape and home.

Preserving the deck and re-grading the site presented a challenge and an opportunity. Since the composite decking color was no longer available, the compo site deck steps were removed and replaced with concrete floating planks. This created a unique transition connecting the home to the landscape over a reflective water feature, while the sounds of a babbling brook are audible at this point of access. With a significant amount of water draining down from the hillside, LWB wanted to highlight the water's journey toward the bottom of the landscape. In collaboration, the team developed the narrative of water beginning in the uplands, slowing down into a reflection pool then cascading into a dramatic waterfall at the lower patio.
Following the water's journey along the reflecting pool into the lower patio, another aural experience is created by the double cascade of water. To build this concept, the team worked with fountain contractor Joel Kammeraad of Complete Aquatics. Identified as a challenge early on, water drawn from a well on the property was volumetrically inadequate for any purpose other than home utilities and limited outdoor usage. In order to sustain the water feature, rainwater is collected from the roof, stored and distributed through an underground structure. This stored water is also used to run the drip irrigation that sustains select areas of new planting and the establishment of a wet meadow. Close coordination with the fountain contractor defined mechanical requirements for the two distinct sets of waterfalls. This refined the concrete wall technical details to ensure that falling water did not create over-splash onto the surrounding hardscape. Camouflaging the maintenance access to the underground structures was challenging.

A vista through the large window in the basement/ home-office proffers an invitation to bring work outdoors. Overhead, a ceiling was installed underneath the existing deck to ease the transition from inside to outside during inclement weather. New concrete walls poured adjacent to existing ones enlarge the lower patio space.

Boulder Rock Wall and Wet Meadow
The designers addressed an issue of erosion caused by significant drainage flowing from the steep hill by the installation of a natural boulder rock wall. The existing boulders in the old rock garden were re-used and incorporated into the 100 plus linear foot wall. The graded swale between the wall and the foundation of the house defines the wet meadow. Previously expressed on top, the French drain is now below grade and helps ensure the meadow does not become a bog.

Planting and Landscape Materials
Planted-form serve to soften and support the geometric layout of the hardscape. Careful specification of size, species, and cultivar ensure that the form and characteristics of each plant enhance the simple linear gestures in the landscape. To accomplish this, extended bloom time and color, four season interest, textured layers, and movement were deciding factors in plant selection. The team developed a weathered steel box detail that can be found at the base of several open roof gutters. Additionally, Mexican beach pebbles, also used in the reflecting pool, are placed on top of a mesh layer that camouflage the boxes function of
catching storm water from the roof tops.

Lighting
Low-voltage outdoor lighting was designed to accent plant material, create diffuse wayfinding, and highlight architectural features. Beyond the modern house numbers at the entrance of the driveway, downlights affixed to mature trees create a moonlight effect on the linear drive. Diffused of its source, light filtered through leaves and branches reinforce a clean, modern aesthetic. Up-lights cast along the facades of the house create a shadow effect that brings visual interest to the nighttime landscape. In-grade luminaires light up pathways without the visual clutter of the often out-of-plumb post lights. Outdoor tape-style LEDs under the floating concrete steps create an ethereal effect as it bridges over the water feature. Accent lights in the reflecting pool and different waterfalls produce ranges of subtle to dramatic lighting as the water moves from the beginning to the end of the feature. The low voltage system allowed the flexibility to control the lighting through an application.

Collaboration
During concept development and throughout the documentation process, the team listened closely to their client's needs and ideas and provided sustainable solutions that addressed environmental concerns. Budget constraints and the remote location of the property made obtaining reputable contractors difficult. As the owner's representative, LWB worked closely with the construction team and made frequent visits, held multiple contractor meetings, and ensured the design intent was met. Vertically formed walls, waterproofing, and additives to the concrete created unique challenges that brought the design and construction team together to achieve successful results. Growers were consulted on the wet meadow mix and an irrigation designer was engaged to ensure efficient flow of drip irrigation drawn from harvested rainwater. Partnership, trust, and enthusiastic involvement by the owners were integral to the successful build of this project. Ultimately verified by time, we are confident that the outdoor living experience we created for our client will perpetuate as the landscape matures.