The Retreat

The Challenge:

The Retreat was an upscale apartment complex in the Bay Area that was showing its age. Worn-out landscaping, an excess of lawn which was in poor repair, and outdoor spaces that did not fit the needs or the lifestyles of its tenants. The project needed an upgrade — but where to begin?

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The Retreat

The Site Analysis:

Our clients were looking for ideas. Our first step was preparation of a site analysis of the property, quantifying and inventorying problem areas in the landscape, to begin to determine where our efforts should be focused. This effort was crucial in determining the scope and budget of the work to follow.

The Site Analysis

The Retreat

The Conceptual Sketches:

Ideas are our stock in trade. Making full use of our favorite brainstorming technology, the pencil and paper, we bounce ideas around the office until the best ideas settle out, in the form of conceptual sketches which are cleaned up and presented to the client for discussion.

The Conceptual Sketches

The Retreat

The Conceptual Design:

The ideas that come out of the conceptual sketches form the basis for the Conceptual Design, which in turn directs preparation of the Construction Documents. The owners of this project were hands-on, and relied on the Conceptual Design to direct the landscape construction.

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The Retreat

The Final Result:

The residents have a wealth of outdoor spaces in which to socialize, relax, and enjoy themselves.

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