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Louisiana Modern10-18-24 | Feature

Louisiana Modern

A Mid-Century-Inspired Residential Renovation
by Brian Goad, PLA, ASLA, McKnight Landscape Architects - Photos: Jimi Smith, Bret Lovetro, Joseph Lockwood

A homeowner in the Mid-City neighborhood of Baton Rouge, Louisiana wanted a completely renovated landscape, something "whimsical and colorful with hints of a West Coast style" for their house. McKnight Landscape Architects and architect Onsite Design collaborated with the clients to bring this dream to life with features including a new pool, covered porches, backyard patios, and a pier-and-beam addition. Working to create an uninterrupted flow of outdoor space, the designers never lost touch with the need to retain the ambiance of the surrounding neighborhood.
An existing pool was removed and replaced with one featuring a shallow shelf for lounging and an integrated spa. McKnight designed it in its entirety. Sixteen-inch-by-twenty-four-inch pavers made from white quartzite, a metamorphic rock derived from quartz and sandstone, were installed for the pool deck. The coping around the pool is the same material.
The design team took cues from the Southern California "Eichler" homes that were built in the 1950s and 1960s while melding with the Southern Louisiana architectural tradition of multiple living spaces joined by hallways and covered porches. A separation between the billiard room and guest room addition allowed for an outdoor alcove with an Ipe deck and stairs. The materials chosen for the deck's ceiling, back wall, and fireplace were specified by the architect.
Adjacent to the pool, a lot purchased by the homeowners was turned into a great lawn. Mature American Elm (Ulmus americana) trees were retained and incorporated into the design. Additional perimeter plantings include Braken's Brown Beauty Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora 'Bracken's Brown Beauty'), Butterfly Bush (Buddleja davidii), Swamp Red Maple (Acer rubrum), and Mayhaw (Crataegus opaca). On the right is a grove of Redbud (Cercis canadensis) trees set in Corten steel planters. Decomposed granite was installed there to serve as stormwater filtration. A subtle landscape lighting design incorporates path lights.
Walkways were created by planting Lily Turf (Liriope) in between quartzite pavers. Rain chains disperse rainwater from gutters into planting beds installed with a mix of native and non-native species chosen to evoke a Southern California landscape. The homeowner's preference for a soft-color palette was fulfilled by specifying plants with chartreuse-leaning colors like Autumn Chiffon Azaleas (Rhododendrum Robled 'Autumn Chiffon') and Dwarf Camelia Sasanqua (Camelia Sasanqua 'Dwarf Shishi').
Gravel and steel edging separates this Ipe deck from the planter with Gulf Muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) and Lily Turf. Chaste Trees (Vitex agnus-castus) were installed behind the deck. The tall steel planter and spherical sculpture on the corner of the deck were supplied by the homeowner.
In the front yard, the walkway is made of quartzite followed by a course of pavers. This area features a; guest parking space and was landscaped with Empire turf (Zoysia japonica 'Empire'), and plants that included Little John Bottlebrush (Melaleuca viminalis), Creeping Thyme (Thymus serpyllum), Japanese Yew (Taxus cuspidata), and Pink Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris).
This space is for covered parking but also doubles as an entertainment and gathering space.
According to Brian Goad, PLA, ASLA of McKnight Landscape Architects. McKnight designed all exterior spaces, including the porches, courtyard, deck, outdoor kitchen, and other gathering areas with the strategy of using hardscape to connect the multiple "living pods," letting them flow from one to the next seamlessly and "allowing the landscape to breathe."

Simple, tranquil, and delicate. This well-planned southern garden boasts a minimalistic and serene order, comfort in its proportional spaces, and an interconnected flow between indoors and out. Located in the popular, historic Mid-City neighborhood in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the upgraded residence blends modernist Palm Springs-inspired concepts with the aesthetic of South Louisiana.

Local firm McKnight Landscape Architects worked closely with the architect Onsite Design and the clients to envision a completely renovated landscape united with a significant architectural addition.

Inspiration from East to West
The clients loved the simplicity of places like Alys Beach, Florida, but preferred something more whimsical and colorful with hints of a West Coast style. The designers were careful to balance those visions while respecting the context and authenticity of a historic neighborhood in the capital city.

Through recalling several classic California precedents, the landscape is inspired by the seamless indoor-outdoor relationships that were popular in many mid-century modern homes, especially the Southern California Eichler homes built in the 1950s and 1960s. In that era, Joe Eichler, a pioneering San Francisco developer, provided affordable modern homes that blurred the lines between home and courtyard. Many of the Eichler homes emphasized outdoor living, with features such as glass walls, interior courtyards, and backyard patios.

The pier-and-beam house addition borrows many cues from the Southern California model. However, it is fittingly grounded in the Southern Louisiana architectural tradition by creating multiple living 'pods' that are interconnected by hallways and covered porches, allowing the landscape to breathe.

Home Design Leads the Way
Architectural features such as a modified dogtrot, covered porches, and small alcoves support the free and uninterrupted flow of outdoor space.

The architectural massing is 'U'-shaped, cradling the landscape, courtyard, and pool. East of the pool, the primary suite was expanded to include a home gym. To the west, the guest suite and billiard room addition is located a short distance away from the house, allowing for a covered outdoor living room with a fireplace. This space opens up to the pool area and is a part of the outdoor spatial sequence.

South of the pool and courtyard, an adjacent lot was purchased to expand the landscape into a great lawn with gardenesque perimeter plantings. Similar to the mid-century California architectural layouts that take advantage of a moderate climate, the landscape architectural design encourages a commune with the outdoors.

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Rightly so, the Landscape Architects didn't copy the Southern California style, but rather evoked the feeling and emotion that it creates. This was the ideal they had in mind while designing all exterior spaces, including the entry cove, outdoor kitchen, porches, courtyard, pool, gathering areas, the great lawn, and the redbud grove that doubles as a bocce ball court.

Areas are organized in a way that encourages unhindered movement and capitalizes on open views between each. In this way, the California advantage of topography, scale, and borrowed scenery is replaced with an internalized configuration - an enclosing and cocoon-like landscape relying heavily on fore and middle ground - and open sky as a background. Therefore, materials in the fore and middle grounds, which are primarily plants and hardscape, are particularly important.

The Softscape
The plant palette includes a mix of native and well-adapted, non-native species that are culturally appropriate for Southern Louisiana.

Plants were selected to simply suggest the feeling of a Southern California landscape, with large masses of the native Gulf Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) recalling breezy cool afternoons, chartreuse-leaning colors that add brightness and excitement, and pink blooms to satisfy a soft color palate desired by the clients.

In addition to the ground plane plantings, understory trees such as Vitex (Vitex agnus-castus), Redbud (Cercis canadensis), and Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum) add color and texture. At the edges of the great lawn, mature existing trees were protected and incorporated into the design, embedded within perimeter plantings.

Hardscape Considerations
Plants and hardscape were designed as equal components, with the former being the organizing element that frames and creates space, and the latter serving as the places to be and move through.

Because there are not many hardscape options indigenous to south Louisiana, designers sourced materials for aesthetic and durability. In line with the modernist ideal, white quartzite was used for the pool deck and paths. This stone is a metamorphic rock derived from quartz and sandstone.

For durability and warmth, Ipe wood is used for the porches and lounge deck. Ipe weathers from a rich brown to a sandy gray over time, which adds to the overall color palate that leans toward the warm spectrum. In the bocce ball court next to the pool, decomposed granite is used both for function and stormwater infiltration.

Extra Touches
The Landscape Architects not only provided the vision for the plants, hardscape, and everything in-between, they were also involved in the design and metal fabrication of some site features. In 2012, the landscape architecture firm opened a fabrication shop as a creative outlet and to maintain quality in the manufacturing process.

As part of the project, the team worked with a manufacturer to design powder-coated steel outdoor kitchen cabinets, the modernist back-lit address sign, and the Corten steel planters grounding the Redbud grove.

From the detail of metal fabrication oversight to the large conception of a landscape master plan, the design team worked within multiple scales to create a wholistic vision that tastefully blends the design inspirations from Southern California into a Southern Louisiana modern residence.

The Poirrier Residence project recently won an honor award from the Louisiana Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

Firm principal Ryan McKnight, PLA states, "This is a project that we are all proud of. It was a great collaborative experience, and most importantly, it is well-loved and cherished by
our clients."

TEAM LIST
Landscape Architect: Ryan McKnight,
PLA, ASLA, McKnight Landscape Architects
Architect: John Pourciau, AIA, + Onsite | MPH
Contractor: Todd Normand,
Bernhard Normand Construction
Landscape Contractor: Steve Rowley, Hydro-Scapes
Pool Contractor: Keith Russell, Russell Pool Company

As seen in LASN magazine, October 2024.

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