A comprehensive landscape architecture studio project for a 40-acre watershed near Crow, Oregon, developed around a family's wish for an earth-sheltered home.
A Walk in the Garden
Taking the term "comprehensive" literally, the work brought together lessons learned before graduation through planning and design proposals intended to improve the family's quality of life and environment. It ranged from ecosystem-aware rural energy and economic-development projects to an earth-sheltered home with integrated greenhouses.
Regional Planning and Design
The Watershed Settlement Scenario proposed supporting population growth by honoring and strengthening the region's ecological vitality and carrying capacity. Development followed inherent landform features, water availability, air flows, and the daily income of solar energy.
Used watersheds as an organizing principle for systems analysis and design of a two-square-mile area. Development zones followed what the local soils, landforms, air flows, daily sunlight, and annual availability of rain and groundwater could sustain—assuming landowners could agree to share responsibilities in service of shared sustainability goals.
Land Planning and Design
The Land Use Scenario balanced economic and environmental investments through forestry, agriculture, natural preserves, buildings, and renewable energy. Proposals included microhydro systems alongside beaver families, silviculture that restored creeks for salmon, and terraced bands of no-till row crops that prevented soil loss.
Site Planning and Design
The Site Plan addressed the family's immediate needs and long-term goals through building placement, contour-following roads, food production alongside creeks, microhydro downstream of a beaver dam, a native white-oak plantation on footslopes, and restorative conifer cover on steeper hillsides.
The house sat at the center of the family's outdoor work and recreational spaces, all of which were connected together by an access road with buried utilities following the lower terrace contours. Orchard health benefitted indirectly from septic drainfield groundwater flows.
Building Design
The Meadowhome proposal (developed in collaboration with designer William R. Higginson) integrated light, spatial freedom, comfort, and ease of living through a passive-solar, earth-integrated structure.
The floor plan aimed to foster a sense of belonging to the land and shorten periods of winter retreat. It connected indoor and outdoor spaces, encouraged natural airflow through rooms, enlivened interior spaces with light and the presence of life, and used an internal greenhouse to moderate the indoor climate.
Building design for an earth sheltered house explored how simple concrete, steel, and glass shapes could create well-lit, comfortable spaces that reduced energy demand through passive heating and cooling.
Interior Design
All rooms used natural materials and colors, and most featured built-ins and niches for plants.
Proposal included specific requirements for a two-bedroom earth-covered house with office, living room, kitchen, dining room, utility room, two-car garage, and a greenhouse.
Ground Perspective
The long expanse of south-facing windows took in a wide view of the valley. Angled glazing assisted with solar heat gain in the winter and large overhangs created shade in the summer.
Structural columns were detailed in local rock and built-in cabinets were made from local hardwoods. Built-in planters created sites for indoor plants.