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Upscaling Nature-Based Solutions

Our landscape architecture experts seek to positively impact communities we work with through the design of creative and sustainable social spaces that add value to our municipal infrastructure projects with artful, resilient streetscape and open space development.

Well planned and designed landscapes can enhance any number of our current services that help our clients improve the human and environmental health of their communities and integrate easily with the innovative flood control, green stormwater infrastructure, water resource, and environmental restoration work we already do.

Frequently, our project work for municipal and private clients results in construction that disrupts public space. We have long prided ourselves on the ability to combine infrastructure projects in attempt to reduce public disruption and also leverage the opportunity to create something multi-beneficial for the community. Our team of landscape designers, planners, ecologists, and green infrastructure engineers, collaborate on nature-based solution to create intentionally designed, high performing landscapes. These projects improve energy efficiency of the built environment, increase property value, contribute to water quality, and above all, create comfortable outdoor spaces for people to enjoy.

Incorporating landscape architecture into our work

In the past decade, the trend for cities has been to create thoughtful landscapes that explore the ecological, cultural, and territorial implications for urban changes. Incorporating landscape architecture in public and private infrastructure not only appeals to community wellbeing, but also adds to the sustainability, resiliency, and ecological impact of the project.

Our landscape architecture services include planning, designing, managing, and nurturing both built and natural environments with the goal of improving human experience and environmental health. We have applied this approach to many of our stormwater projects through innovative green infrastructure solutions, such as green roofs, rain gardens, bioswales, habitat restoration, and pervious materials that contribute to larger resource sustainability goals surrounding water quality improvement, flood mitigation and air quality improvements.

Author

Daniel Windsor Practice Leader Community Development

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Landscape Architecture Examples

CompostEd | Westchester County, NY

Legacy Park | Malibu, CA

Hancock Adams Common | Quincy, MA

Sometimes the landscape architecture design plays a small role, such as the demonstration scale static pile composting facility we planned and designed for Westchester County, New York. By nature of composting facility’s function, some impermeable surfaces were required. However, to manage stormwater at the facility, the design included swales, native vegetate strips, and permeable pathways.

Other examples, such as Legacy Park in Malibu, California, rely heavily on landscape architecture to achieve project goals. The 15 acre site includes an engineered forebay that helps settle sediment out as stormwater flows to a retention basin for additional filtration. Surrounding this feature are native plants that help with stormwater treatment and habitat restoration. Trails and bridges make the site accessible to the community, allowing them to experience the natural landscape and enjoy public art installations and educational plaques.

In Quincy, Massachusetts, Hancock Adams Common features 40-foot shade trees, improved pedestrian areas, ample public seating, water fountain features, and statues where a four-lane thoroughfare once stood. Relocating the roadway was a massive undertaking that included critical upgrades to buried infrastructure and resulted in a welcomed common space that ties together the city’s historic United First Parish Church, Old Town Hall, and Hancock Cemetery. The Common is part of the city’s greater revitalization plan and goal to ensure most residents downtown can step out their front door and walk to a city park in less than 10 minutes.

It is actually easier being green

Projects that include thoughtful landscape architecture further our overall mission to protect the water and environment. The effective approaches in landscape design that also reduce stormwater runoff and improve water quality signal to policymakers the value and impact of green infrastructure.

In rapidly growing communities, urban infrastructure is the predominant landscape. Our landscape services provide communities with long term, maintainable parks, greenways, trails, and existing public space improvements, as well as funding opportunities to accomplish these projects. Not to mention, we have found our green infrastructure and low-impact development (LID) approaches often save our clients’ money to install and maintain compared to traditional grey infrastructure projects.

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