Fall 2013 I apld.org
Photo Credit: William Ripley, APLD
Residential Merit Award
Dauwe Residence, Village of Indian Hill, Ohio William Ripley, APLD, Architectural Landscape Design, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio The original site in USDA Zone 6a contained an old dilapidated home on three and a quarter acres. The property had been neglected for many years and there were many damaged trees located throughout the property. Invasive honeysuckle had taken over sections of the woodland understory at the perimeters of the property, and the existing pavement made vehicular and pedestrian pathways uncomfortable. The clients wanted to transform the entire property. They preferred that the scale and style of the proposed home be reflected in the exterior design. They desired a landscape that felt grand and sophisticated yet complimentary to the emotional tone of the land and neighborhood. The clients envisioned a dramatic journey leading up to the home’s entrance with stylish pathways wrapping around the home’s footprint. They did not plan on occupying the home during the summer months and therefore wanted the flower cycles and the textural interests of the plant selections to be dominant during their months at the home. They also needed to find a solution to running water from three adjacent properties that continuously streamed across the center of the property and vehicular pathway. It was my intent to meet the client’s needs and provide solutions for many other intricacies associated with a project of this scale and scope. I developed structural features that reflected, extended and accentuated the architecture of the proposed home. I chose materials appropriate for the property and selected plant material to fit the client’s requirements, while being sensitive to the ever-present wildlife.
The project was a blank slate. The old house was razed, the new home built, new infrastructure installed, and the remaining property developed and landscaped according to our client’s wishes. We built supporting structures and accented those features with proper plant selections. We developed a preservation plan, acquired all hard materials such as fieldstone, creek stone, and brick from local sources, and purchased all plant material from local growers. Instead of capturing the water from adjacent properties and draining it into the village sewer system, we made it part of the natural landscape and allowed it to flow naturally into a nearby pond. My role as a designer included all conceptual and construction drawings necessary for the implementation of the project, together with day-to-day oversight of the construction, landscaping and planting. I was responsible for designing and for construction management of everything from the foundation of the home to the property lines. I was accountable for siting the home on the property, including the establishment of the home’s elevation and orientation, and designing all structural elements and aesthetic features, which included walls, a bridge, vehicular and pedestrian pathways, exterior lighting (both line and low voltage), topography and drainage plans, and planting and preservation plans. Although I was responsible for the conceptual designs for the vehicular bridge and the large stone retaining walls, engineering was requested and required for the completion of construction drawings for these two features.
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