Accessibility and Universal Design in the Landscape

When I was studying interior design I was fascinated by universal design. While I don’t trust Wikipedia for everything, their definition nails it:

Universal design refers to broad-spectrum ideas meant to produce buildings, products, and environments that are inherently accessible to both people without disabilities and people with disabilities.

I think universal design is brilliant. Well-done universal design functions well for everyone, and in many cases it’s accessible to everyone without looking institutional. Examples of this inside the home would be showers that look like any other high-end bathroom but can accommodate a wheelchair, or grab bars that match the home’s decor. We can carry these same ideas to the outside.

Keeping paths as level or as gently inclined as possible is one way of making them accessible to as many people as possible. The Americans with Disabilities Act has some good guidelines for this sort of thing, as it’s based on lots of research into what people can comfortably navigate. We can also make these surfaces ADA compliant, allowing wheelchairs to easily roll across them. Asphalt is good, gravel is bad. But what if asphalt isn’t the look we want?

Source: Cell-Tek's company site

There are products out there that can bind gravel to keep it looking natural while still allowing wheelchairs to use the path. Two of these are Gravel-Lok and Klingstone Path. If you’re here in Virginia, you can go to James Madison’s Montpelier (in Orange County) to see what Klingstone Paths look like in person. It’s pretty exciting.

For most other design considerations, universal design outside has many of the same considerations as the inside. Outdoor kitchens can be made usable for anyone, and lighting design becomes even more important for safety and wayfinding at night. If you’re looking to age in place, or you know someone who is, give me a call. I’d be happy to talk with you about design steps we can take to keep the outdoors accessible for years to come.

Commercial Landscape Design Project- Old House Vineyards in Culpeper, Virginia

Yes, I do commercial design work as well. Not bid work- I’m a firm believer that when the only deciding factor is the lowest bid, everyone (including the client) loses- but work for property owners who believe the quality of the landscape design impacts their customers’ enjoyment of the space. I was fortunate to get to work with Pat and Allison Kearney, owners of Old House Vineyards in Culpeper, VA. They’ve decided to host weddings at their farm winery and built a large pavilion in which to hold receptions. I’m told that with capacity for 200 guests, Old House Vineyards has the largest outdoor wedding venue of any winery in Virginia. The design process started last year, and began with a new sign at the entrance to the property.

Rendering of Virginia Winery Entry Sign

With the magic of great carpenters, you can see that the finished product looks just like the rendering (minus the instant perennials, of course).

Photo of Old House Vineyards Entry Sign

From there, I created the landscape plan for the area immediately around the pavilion. One of the challenges was fitting in parking for the expected number of guests and providing a space for limousines to turn around, all without getting cars too close to the grapevines.

Landscape Plan for Old House Vineyards

As with any project, changes were made to the plan throughout the installation as other factors presented themselves. Even with that, I’m thrilled with how things turned out. Keep in mind that the plantings are still too soon for prime time (like the sign). Next year, as plants really take off, it’s going to look great!

Here’s what we started with:

…and an empty island as well:

The building went up quickly

As did the wedding arbor

Then, we started the landscaping with the path to the bridge. Landscape design for a large site is all about scale.

Needless to say, progress on my end of things ground to a halt once Snowpocalypse 2010 hit. Luckily we only lost a few plants, and this spring we really hit it in earnest. The last few weeks have seen a flurry of activity. Here are some shots from a few weekends ago:

And, in what may be may favorite photo, here’s a shot that the owner sent me of the wedding arbor at night:

Night Photo of the Wedding Arbor at Old House Vineyards

Flagstone Patio Pics (Northern Virginia)

In amongst the craziness of spring, I took the time to slide by a flagstone patio/ dry-stacked fieldstone wall/ planting job I designed last spring. I have to say, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out:

flagstone patio

The “main room” of the patio is irregular (aka “broken”) flagstone with a border of granite cobbles. The rest of the field of the patio is random-laid rectangular flagstone.

patio, boxwood, and retaining wall

We tied into the existing brick walkway through the woods. The wall replaced some old, decaying railroad ties that defined the birds’ garden.

I guess that highlights the big difference between landscape design and interior design: with an interior, some of your best shots are the day after the crews pull off the site. This landscape is still “too young for primetime” at a year old, but I’m still digging the final result. This project’s in Alexandria, Virginia, just a stone’s throw from Mount Vernon, so boxwood were a natural choice.

Anyhow, just thought I’d share. I know the posting’s been a little sparse, so I need to at least show a little of what I’ve been up to!

Plant Profile: Mountain Fire Pieris

profile card for mountain fire pieris

If you’re looking for a funky little accent plant, Pieris japonica is a great choice, and the variety ‘Mountain Fire’ seems to do pretty well in northern Virginia. What’s also important is that the deer don’t seem to want to eat it.

Plant Profile: Chinese Fringe Tree

Chinese Fringe Tree

This is actually a fairly under-utilized plant, which is a darn shame. I love the Chinese Fringe Tree (chionanthus virginicus), partly because it’s just so unusual that its blooms stop people in their tracks. The best advice I can give if you’re on the fence – and lucky enough to live in northern Virginia – is to go take a look at some great specimens in bloom. The photo here was taken the first week of May last year, on the walkway exiting the new Mount Vernon visitors’ center. I was killing time waiting for a landscape contractor to meet me at a site down the road, so I grabbed my camera and got some use out of my annual pass. The squirrels were incredibly fearless. I thought this little guy was going to run right up my pants leg.