McNICHOLS ECO-ROCK® CASE STUDY
Working in collaboration with DES Architects + Engineers (DES) of
Redwood City, CA, the landscape designer, Lastras de Gertler (LdG)
Landscape Architects of San Diego, knew they would need a hardscape
system that could be assembled in various configurations and serve
multiple functions. DES and LdG partnered with Level 10 Construction and
BrightView Landscape Development, both of San Diego, to tackle the project.
THE HOLE SOLUTION
Rocio Gertler, the principal of LdG, and the team, turned to
McNICHOLS ECO-ROCK®. The gabion-style wire
containers created a partition and divider system that is custom-filled with
angled rocks harvested from a local quarry. This Wire Mesh, framed grid
system was integrated into seating, partitions, and decorative features.
Assembled in container-style arrangements along the slope outside the
fitness center, the system became the basis of LdG’s plan for amphitheaterstyle
seating that also became an outdoor extension of the fitness center.
Hand-filled by BrightView with indigenous rocks, ECO-ROCK® in the
amphitheater is capped with Ipe wood and installed in varying heights and
depths along manicured greenscapes and platform steps.
ECO-ROCK® is also highlighted in other areas of the campus in
addition to the platform steps. Along walkways, ECO-ROCK® can be
seen filled with patio stones larger than those in the amphitheater seating.
In the outdoor eating area, ECO-ROCK® is applied to the front of a
dining counter as a way to repeat the rock design feature throughout the
amenity area.
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Gertler said, “We wanted a design that could bring down the expense of
the grounds.” Cost efficiency was a key factor in LdG’s choice of landscape
and hardscape material.
“To make it personal and add interest, we wanted to create a place of
plantings, hardscape, and furniture,” she said. “We wanted a scenario
that was rustic, and with the mountain view, we wanted to bring natural
materials into the plan and introduce them in an artistic way.”
“We like that ECO-ROCK® is a system,” said Gertler, noting that “we
knew we would need to use the material in different ways, so we wanted a
system with different sizes and functions.”
According to Howard Jeng of DES Architects + Engineers, the newly
designed amenities on the campus combined with the addition of glass
elements to surrounding buildings, turned a once monolithic-looking
concrete setting into an aesthetically pleasing office park that is home
to technology companies and light industrial tenants. The redesigned
entrance and patio areas helped define the entry point, as well as various
parts of the campus, he said.
Completed in 2016, the project earned the 2017 Orchid Award for
Landscape Architecture from the San Diego Architectural Foundation.
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