Mid-Century Design Brought into New Millenium

By Kathy Gilson, landscape architect, Boyd Heiderich Bargas Gibson

A waterfall adds to the serenity of the central courtyard.

Designed in 1959-60, the residence at 3911 Shenandoah represents one of the finest examples of mid-century architecture in Dallas, Texas. Originally designed by Robert Johnson Perry, the magnificent, regionalist modern residence escaped the wrecking ball and was meticulously restored by the new owners. A team consisting of the interior designer/owner, architect, and landscape architect collaborated to bring new life to the house without losing the original design intent, sense of place, and period materials.

The residence is located on a quiet, tree-lined street near the Turtle Creek greenbelt that winds through old Highland Park, an oasis within Dallas. As property values have risen, many original mid-century residences have been replaced with large, new houses that crowd the building lots. By restoring this residence within the original footprint, the mature live oaks and spacious yard were maintained, an aesthetic advantage to the owners and the neighborhood.

The front elevation highlights the Asian jasmine planted throughout. Fatsia and holly ferns sit against the building and carport. Trees were trimmed to allow more sunlight to filter through to the ground plane.

The landscape architecture firm of Boyd Heiderich Bargas Gibson was retained early in the design process, acknowledgement of the significance of the landscape development to the success of the project. The plan of the residence is organized around a central courtyard and four perimeter courtyards, creating a powerful relationship between interior and exterior spaces; dramatic full height windows, contrasted by masonry walls and fireplaces, allow natural light and garden views to penetrate into each room, giving a sculptural quality to the entire home. From many interior rooms, two or three courtyards are visible at one time. Architect Robert Perry?EUR??,,????'???s vision of a simple lifestyle inspired by a strong relationship to nature and light were paramount to the landscape design philosophy. The program dictated a serene design with simplicity of plant material, low maintenance and limited budget.

The entry courtyard was planted with a dense planting of Fatsia, a ?EUR??,,????'??bloodgood?EUR??,,????'?? Japanese maple underplanted with Helleborus, and vines to climb the facing walls.

Prior to renovation, the existing landscape at 3911 Shenandoah consisted of mature live oaks, which framed the residence and provided excellent high canopy shade. The inner courtyards had been sadly neglected and did not reflect the design integrity required by the interaction of interior and exterior architecture. Existing shrubs and groundcover suffered from lack of sunlight and proper maintenance. An aging wood fence needed to be removed, leaving views of the neighbor?EUR??,,????'???s house to be screened. Antiquated air conditioning units and maintenance equipment areas were poorly placed.

The central atrium and side courtyard as seen from the entrance.

The front yard was simplified by removing a curved bed of grass that suffered from lack of sunlight. Asian jasmine was planted throughout to cover the front yard, with Fatsia and holly ferns against the building and carport. Trees were trimmed up to allow more sunlight to filter through to the ground plane.

The entry courtyard was planted with a dense planting of Fatsia, a ?EUR??,,????'??bloodgood?EUR??,,????'?? Japanese maple underplanted with Helleborus, and vines to climb the facing walls. Upon entering the residence, one is struck by views of the central atrium and, above, a side courtyard to the east. The landscape architect connected the two levels of exterior space visually with water that seems to flow from a pool in the upper courtyard under the ?EUR??,,????'??bridge?EUR??,,????'?? of the indoor connector into a second pool in the lower central courtyard. The water seems to source at a bubbler at the far end of the upper pool, flow to a waterfall just before the ?EUR??,,????'??bridge?EUR??,,????'?? of interior space, and out a sheer descent fountain in the lower central courtyard. From the fountain, the water follows the l-shaped pool, which wraps the glass walls of the residence and finishes with a waterfall at the far end. There is a ?EUR??,,????'??floating?EUR??,,????'?? stepping stone in the pool on which to enter the courtyard from the sliding glass doors of the residence. Materials for the pool were salvaged from low walls found on the site or selected to match existing stone and brick masonry. The pools are two separate recirculating systems.

The upper courtyard illustrates the simple plant palette of both courtyards: a mature Suminagshi Japanese maple, Ophiopogon, bamboo, and crushed aggregate.

Both courtyards were kept simple, with a limited plant palette to complement the serenity of the residence. The upper courtyard includes a mature ?EUR??,,????'??Suminagshi?EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'??? Japanese maple, Ophiopogon, bamboo, and crushed aggregate. The central courtyard includes Pittosporum, oakleaf hydrangea, and wisteria to be trained on the chimney, and fig ivy to cover the rear wall. The floor of the courtyard is covered with a combination of chartreuse moneywart and dichondra. The stepping-stones have already acquired a patina of moss. A thread leaf Japanese maple was added to soften the trunk of the existing live oak.

The central courtyard from the living room shows the connection of two levels of exterior space visually with water that seems to flow from a pool in the upper courtyard, under the ?EUR??,,????'??bridge?EUR??,,????'?? of the indoor connector, and out into a second pool in the lower central courtyard. Materials for the pool were either salvaged from low walls found on the site or selected to match existing stone and brick masonry. The pools are actually two separate recirculating systems.

In the rear yard, dense shade from mature live oaks had weakened the grass cover, the yard sloped from east to west, and additional space was needed for entertaining since the original rear patio was very small. The architect designed three interlocking circles of gravel; each terraced one step above the next. The gravel enables the beautiful root structure of the live oaks to be exposed and can be easily used for large group entertaining.

The architect designed three interlocking circles of gravel in the rear garden; each terraced one step above the next, as seen from the exercise room at the east end of the residence. The gravel enables the beautiful root structure of the live oaks to be exposed and can be easily used for large group entertaining.

Polished river rocks were installed in the exercise room courtyard and ?EUR??,,????'??flow?EUR??,,????'?? along the rear of the house with a limestone ?EUR??,,????'??bridge?EUR??,,????'?? stepping stone from the existing patio to the new gravel garden. Mixed groundcover was replaced with a simple palette of Ophiopogon, dwarf in the foreground and standard in the wooded rear garden. The owner installed her collection of Xavier Corbero basalt sculptures in the shade garden to the east. Bamboo was planted to soften the view of the neighbor. The existing rear fence was stained and planted with Elaeagnus to cover. Japanese maples and ?EUR??,,????'??forest pansy?EUR??,,????'?? redbuds will complete the wooded garden surrounding the gravel circles.

Air conditioners and maintenance structures were removed from the west side yard enabling the existing patio to be surrounded by garden. A row of Savannah hollies were planted to screen the neighbor?EUR??,,????'???s roofline. New concrete pads were poured for the barbecue grill with the use of an original wooden grid to screen the grill from the garden side.

From the upper hallway of the residence you look out upon the upper courtyard.

Soft landscape lighting was added to accentuate the shadow patterns on gravel and water, the exposed roots of the live oaks, and the contrasting plant textures at night. The landscape architect has played on the serenity required by the architecture and interior design with the use of gravel and a unified plant palette, and has added the drama of water to magnify the experience of the interaction of light and space.