The Bird Watcher's House

by Karen Stretch, regional editor

The residents of the Bird Watcher?EUR??,,????'???s House wanted to create a landscape around their home in Maple Valley, Wash. that would be an integral part of the daily rhythms of nature. The land that the home sits on was a logging area in the mid-1990s. Rusty logging equipment and refuse was scattered throughout the property and had to be removed. Sculptor Phil McCracken created the ?EUR??,,????'??Bird in Flight?EUR??,,????'?? sculpture that was placed on the front of the house and has since become the identity of the project.

Maple Valley has two famous neighbors. To its left is Seattle, one of the most beautiful and progressive cities in the Pacific Northwest. To the right lies Mount Rainier, an episodically active volcano that rises more than 14,000 feet above sea level. In between is Maple Valley, a small town with a population of approximately 17,000 people living within five square miles of land dotted with lakes and lush forested land.

One of Maple Valley?EUR??,,????'???s most visually interesting homes is the Bird Watcher?EUR??,,????'???s House, which earned its name due to its residents, who are avid bird watchers.

Because the home is located centrally on the site, every room of the residence has beautiful views of the surrounding forests, meadows and wetlands.

When the homeowners decided to create a landscape around their home that would be an integral part of the daily rhythms of nature, they called on Jerry Coburn of the Seattle landscape architecture firm, Belt Collins to help them realize their vision.

From warblers to tweeters to egrets and eagles, there are nearly 500 different species of birds in the state of Washington, giving the homeowners plenty of subjects to keep an eye out for. Coburn kept their passion for bird watching in mind when designing the landscape of their home.

An axial-stepped dispersion pool was built near the home to create a tranquil atmosphere through the sound of trickling water. The pool uses re-circulated rainwater from the roof and reflects nature into the home and provides water perches for birds.

The site of the home already had many native attributes such as wetlands, meadows and woodlands for Coburn to utilize. But to establish and enhance these existing attributes, restoration of the property was necessary.

The land on which the home sits was once a logging site in the mid 1990s. Rusty logging equipment and refuse was scattered throughout the property and had to be removed.

To restore a natural appearance and in areas, the natural drainage of the site, subtle grading was implemented. Stormwater is retained on site including large inflows from off site. A retention pond measuring 20' x 20' was installed to collect inflow near the entry. The water is then diverted from the retention pond and redirected to a bio-swale through the meadow.

Coburn?EUR??,,????'???s role in the project was to restore and enhance the natural characteristics of the property as well as to provide a connection between the existing and the new elements of the site.

Coburn prepared a master plan for the five-acre site in addition to landscaping design, grading, planting and restoration plans for the first phase of the project that included a 0.4-mile entry road, entry court and the area directly surrounding the home.

Adding color and fragrance to the main entrance of the house are chamomile, beach strawberry, Corsican mint, iris moss, creeping thyme and stonecrop. Plants were chosen based on their tolerance to drought as well as their ability to attract birds. There was no irrigation system installed on the site in order to maintain the natural look of the area and to conserve water, which meant that all of the plants had to be native to the Pacific Northwest.

Constructing Nature

The logging history of the land was incorporated into the landscape design by turning an old logging road, which traversed the site, into an entry road and a portion of a trail system that runs through the property.

As a way to keep all of the excess cut material on site from the excavation of the structure?EUR??,,????'???s foundation, an artist collaborated on the design by creating three earth sculptures in the southeast corner of the meadow.

Sculptor Phil McCracken created the bird in flight sculpture that was placed on the front of the house and has since become the identity of the project.

Trees were used as screening in order to hide on site utilities as well as off site buildings. Making up the majority of the surrounding tree species are cedar, fir, hemlock and maple. Salal, ferns, mahonia, huckleberry and grasses such as fountain grass, autumn joy and giant feather grass. Noxious weeds that were growing on the site, particularly near the previously cleared areas, had to be removed.

Functional Water Features

To restore a natural appearance and in areas, the natural drainage of the site, subtle grading was implemented. Stormwater is retained on site including large inflows from off site. A retention pond was installed to collect inflow near the entry. The water is then diverted from the retention pond and redirected to a bio-swale through the meadow.

An axial-stepped dispersion pool that was designed by Coburn and the project engineer, was built near the home and creates a tranquil atmosphere through the sound of trickling water. The pool uses re-circulated rainwater runoff from the roof and reflects nature into the home and provides water perches for birds.

A 40?EUR??,,????'??? x 30?EUR??,,????'??? roof deck is the site of a green house and composting and worm bins. Vegetables were planted in 2' x 2' and 2' x 4' fiberglass structures in order to minimize disturbance to the existing environment, to utilize the plentiful sunlight, and to protect the vegetables from wildlife.

Flora and Fauna

Throughout the site, native plants were used and all disturbed areas of the site were re-naturalized to bring the appearance of the meadow and forest floor directly to the walls and windows of the structure.

Plants were chosen based on their tolerance to drought and their ability to attract birds. There was no irrigation system installed in order to maintain the natural look of the site and to reduce water consumption.

To protect the homeowner?EUR??,,????'???s vegetable garden from wandering woodland creatures, a 40?EUR??,,????'???x30?EUR??,,????'??? roof deck was built as well as a green house, composting and worm bins.

Since the home is located centrally on the site, the views from the house look out onto natural scenes in all directions. Plants, trees and shrubs were used to hide on-site utilities and adjacent off site buildings. Cedar, fir, hemlock and maple make up the majority of the tree species on the property. Fern, salal, mahonia, huckleberry and grasses make up the primary understory growth.

Ornamentals were used in select areas including accents at the entry court and near a north outbuilding to create a fragrance garden. Weeds growing on the site, especially near the previously cleared areas, required mitigation. Slopes direct drainage from the southwest area of the site to a wetland marsh in the northeast corner of the site.

Distinct natural zones were established on the site and a trail system was established with bird and wildlife observation points installed along the way. The zones include dense forest, open meadow and wetland marsh.

Future construction plans for the property include a moss garden, fern grotto, wetland lookout, forest tree house, beehive garden and teahouse.