LASN is a photographically oriented, professional journal featuring topics of concern and state-of-the-art projects designed or influenced by registered Landscape Architects.
Issue link: https://landscapearchitect.epubxp.com/i/923105
The contractor salvaged the existing pavement to replate disturbed site areas. Techniques and details required extensive mock-ups of hardscape treatments (textures, aggregates and colors). Mock-up panels were either done in place so they could be reused as a final product or repurposed for other uses, such as the mock-up for the restroom walls, which were sand blasted and repurposed for trail wayfinding signage. Large areas of desert were roped off and had silt fences installed so that neither construction vehicles nor foot traffic disturbed those areas. The contractor had separate bins so that construction debris could be recycled. Trees were evaluated and trimmed by a certified arborist. Daily sweeps cleared the site of debris. The design team worked with the city to plan and develop the parking lot design. The challenge was the city's desire to maximize parking. The team initiated extensive ground evaluation and topographic mapping, resulting in a series of parking "nodes" designed out of respect for the wash corridors, surrounding slopes, native vegetation and desert views. Top, Left: This board-formed concrete mock-up panel was repurposed as wayfinding signage at the intersection of two hiking paths. The text was sandblasted into the concrete. Bottom, Left: The ramada offers shade (depending on the angle of the sun of course), seating and "leaning" bars for trail users and preserve visitors. Middle: New soft surface trails connect the automobile parking area to the equestrian parking area and to the trail systems throughout the preserve. "The trails were carefully walked and alignments staked to weave them through the preserve, maintaining existing stands of vegetation and to minimize overall site impacts," explains the landscape architect. 68 Landscape Architect and Specifier News