Tag Archives: SEATTLE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
Brooks Kolb’s “Atomic Ranch House” Garden Design featured in “Pacific NW” Magazine
A photograph of Seattle Landscape Architect Brooks Kolb’s garden design was included in a “Northwest Living” story in the March 3, 2012 Seattle Times “Pacific NW” Magazine. Bearing the expressive title, “Big Blast from the Atomic Ranch Past,” Becky Teagarden’s article describes the creative and meticulous way in which Sabrina Libertty restored her West Seattle mid-century modern home with exuberant furnishings, art and industrial design from the period. Brooks’ job as landscape architect was to fulfill Sabrina’s dream of a mid-century modern garden such as one would expect to find in Palm Springs. It didn’t hurt that a huge cache of red lava rock gravel covered most of the side yard, and we recycled it as pebble banding in new poured concrete pathways.
Built on several levels, the new garden is divided into two sub-spaces, one for the primary use of the owners, plus a smaller outdoor terrace and deck for their vacation rental guests in “Suite Shagalicious,” downstairs below the main living space. Horizontally clad fences were designed to harmonize with the existing railing on an upper deck. The owner’s garden features a paved cove with a portable fire feature. An invisible turf paving system called “Geoblock” was used to create an occasional parking space.Watch Full Movie Streaming Online and Download
Here’s a link to the article and Ben Benschneider’s photograph of the architecture and landscape:
http://seattletimes.com/html/pacificnw/2020397759_pacificpnwl03.htm
Meanwhile, here’s a photograph taken toward the end of the contsruction:
Brooks Kolb’s Sustainable Landscapes Highlighted in Alaska Airlines Magazine
In the July 13 issue of Alaska Airlines Magazine entitled “Home Green Home: the benefits of sustainable living,” Seattle Landscape Architect Brooks Kolb contributed his thoughts on “gardening with a sustainable thumb.” Accompanied by a photograph of Brooks Kolb’s Laurelhurst Hillside Garden, the article summarizes some of the leading principles of energy conservation in residential architectural design as well as landscape design.
Brooks was quoted saying, “There’s always a trade-off or conflict between the goal to be sustainable and the goal to meet your dream of what you want your landscape to be.” Actually, there doesn’t need to be a conflict. Often it’s a matter of communicating to a client how their dream landscape can be simultaneously designed to be sustainable. For example, if someone has their heart set on a stone path and steps and they’ve found a beautiful Chinese granite, it could be a matter of showing them how a locally sourced stone can be just as beautiful. The energy saved by eliminating the need for shipping from halfway around the world can be substantial.
As writer Lyna Bort Caruso summarized it, Brooks’ “design philosophy is to support what clients request, but to also nudge them in a greener direction that can help reduce watering and gardening bills, too. This may include using local materials wherever practical; reducing the size of lawns and leaving grass cuttings behind to serve as a natural fertilizer; installing a rain garden, which allows rainwater to collect and channel off into yards; and avoiding pesticides and herbicides to protect the groundwater from pollutants.”
Here’s a link to the full article: http://www.journalgraphicsdigitalpublications.com/epubs/PARADIGM%20COMMUNICATIONS%20GROUP/ParadigmAlaskaAirlinesJuly2013/#?page=86
Brooks Kolb’s Laurelhurst Hillside Garden, photograph published in Alaska Airlines Magazine
Brooks Kolb Landscape Featured in “Coastal Living” Magazine
