Merit Award
Terraces in Tiburon
Tiburon, CA
Lead Landscape Architect: Joseph Huettl
A spectacular new modern residence overlooking San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate deserved a landscape that would tie it to the steeply sloping site. The landscape architect was brought onto the team to solve a steep entrance sequence as well as try to make use of the down-sloping hillside below. Through the use of a series of walls and terraces mimicking the geometry of the home, the site was transformed into a sequence of spaces that tease the visitor down the slope.
A relatively gentle arrival path was created in the front yard through the use of engineered retaining walls softened by exotic plantings. Steps lead past a water feature to a Zen-inspired entry garden. The backyard transitions from more developed and rigid areas near the home to a looser and more random meadow landscape that terminates at a nature pond, creating dialogue with the adjacent open space. Site-appropriate plantings and permeable surfaces minimize water use and stormwater runoff.
