Lafayette, California

Hillside Exploration

Location: Lafayette, California
Design Type: Residential
TBA: New Construction

Location

Lafayette, California

Design Type

Residential

TBA

Abc

Project Overview

A recently-built craftsman-style home was sited at the base of a steep hill, engineered and restored after a landslide. The clients wished to extend the confined outdoor spaces provided by the developer by utilizing the hillside for children’s play and gardening. Near the home an existing low retaining wall was modified with the addition of stairs to provide easy access to the adjacent lawn area. Across the lawn a steep stair begins a journey of discovery uphill. At the top of the stair a path central to the design consists of a generously scaled wood and fiberglass ramped walkway artfully covering an engineered v-ditch from view. The ramped walkway leads downhill to a tiered vegetable garden and potting bench while pathways continue uphill to an expansive space accommodating play and a large climbing structure. Adjacent seating walls provide a place to take in the view to the valley below.

Collaborators

Landscape Contractor

Civil Engineer

Schell and Martin Inc.

Structural Engineer

Robert H. Gorman

Soils Engineer

Tom Cundey Geotechnical Consultants Inc.

Photography

RTD