Re:enlarging space
- Subject: Re:enlarging space
- From: m* l*
- Date: Mon, 06 May 2002 07:06:38 +0000
Cheryl,
You have described a truly nightmarish scenario. A design for new house in
subdivision with very small space and owners who want "ease of maintenance".
It was with just this vision in mind that I quit the landscape
architecture program at UCDavis some years back.
Assuming you are at this point unable to claim a pressing prior commitment
in some faraway place, I would offer only two points from my own
experiences.
First and foremost, before you go spending a bunch of time energy and
money amending what the developer laughingly left you as "soil", check the
drainage. Check in in a lot of places, all over the yard, not just one or
two. Most of the houses built here in California in developments
such as you describe are, as you have described, scraped of topsoil in order
to level the site. They are then severely compacted by giant machines that
resemble something out of War of the Worlds.
This is great if your only concern is pouring concrete foundation slabs that
will not shift or crack substantiallly with a minimum of fuss and effort.
It makes landscaping such a site somewhat tedious and often requires
substantial improvements in the form of drainage. You may already be aware
of this, and if so, my apologies for advice not needed.
The other tidbit is the book title "Space and Illusion in the Japanese
Garden" by Teiji Itoh. Certainly the best explanation I have seen of the
technique referenced by Sean (as well as some of others) for making small
spaces seem otherwise.
Good luck. My guess is that you will learn a great deal from this design.
Most respectfully,
Michael Larmer
Sacramento, California
where we have so far had the best spring for flowers I can remember.
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