Architect: JLF Architects Photo: Audrey Hall Fenestration: Brombal thermally broken Cor-Ten steel windows and doors (sales@brombalusa.com / brombalusa.com)

The stargazing area designed and constructed by Southern Landscape features a limestone retaining wall with planters, pergola, and custom firepit to allow the homeowner to enjoy the beautiful evenings in the Texas Hill Country.

Rows of globe boxwood and masses of creeping thyme and sedge grass run parallel to the street and highlight the front façade of the house. A retaining wall of Corten steel slices through the vegetation to create a striking juxtaposition of textures as well as a clear delineation between public and private space. Concrete steps lead up to and through the wall, their cantilevered construction making them appear to float atop the landscape. Photo by George Dzahristos.

A retaining wall of Corten steel slices through the vegetation to create a striking juxtaposition of textures as well as a clear delineation between public and private space. Photo by George Dzahristos.

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Grasses visually soften the top edge of the four-foot Versalok modular concrete block wall. Steps provide easy access to the deck from the yard.
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Corten steel retaining walls with Italian cypress. Also pictured are the quarry block walls.
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Here concrete steps lead up the existing slope, bordered by corten steel retaining walls planted with bunch grasses and succulents.
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Exterior forms are emphasized with glass and fiber-cement panels at the top level, soaring over and sheltering containers clad in tougher, leathery Corten Steel at the ground level. Exposed concrete walls and rock-filled gabion retaining was selected to anchor the partially day-lighted basement level and garages to the land. Materials were chosen to be low-maintenance, relatively inexpensive, and to contrast the volumes that express the interior spaces.

This is an example of a contemporary landscaping in Austin.

Quarry block wall
Inspiration for a large modern drought-tolerant and full sun front yard stone retaining wall landscape in Austin for spring.

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A new custom residence in the Harrison Views neighborhood of Issaquah Highlands. The home incorporates high-performance envelope elements (a few of the strategies so far include alum-clad windows, rock wall house wrap insulation, green-roofs and provision for photovoltaic panels). The building site has a unique upper bench and lower bench with a steep slope between them. The siting of the house takes advantage of this topography, creating a linear datum line that not only serves as a retaining wall but also as an organizing element for the home’s circulation. The massing of the home is designed to maximize views, natural daylight and compliment the scale of the surrounding community. The living spaces are oriented to capture the panoramic views to the southwest and northwest, including Lake Washington and the Olympic mountain range as well as Seattle and Bellevue skylines. A series of green roofs and protected outdoor spaces will allow the homeowners to extend their living spaces year-round. With an emphasis on durability, the material palette will consist of a gray stained cedar siding, corten steel panels, cement board siding, T&G fir soffits, exposed wood beams, black fiberglass windows, board-formed concrete, glass railings and a standing seam metal roof. A careful site analysis was done early on to suss out the best views and determine how unbuilt adjacent lots might be developed. The total area is 3,425 SF of living space plus 575 SF for the garage. Photos by Benjamin Benschneider. Architecture by Studio Zerbey Architecture + Design. Cabinets by LEICHT SEATTLE.

The front of the home is terraced by the use of steel retainers, and an Ipe boardwalk complements the entry transitioning two sets of cantilevered concrete steps. A river birch tree perches at its terminus. Ascending the front walkway, visitors are greeted by textural plantings that interplay with sunlight harmonizing the natural materials utilized on the home’s exterior.