Restorative Landscape Design

The landscape design of the Woods Hole Research Center is focused on three distinct types of landscape: the open field, the forest, and the constructed landscape of parking, gardens and recreation near the building. The various spaces and places proposed for this facility explore both the archetypal nature of these forms and the specific nature of them as they exist on this site and in this region. The glacial topography of steep kettle hole depressions and erratic boulders, the plant communities and the program requirements are celebrated, as are the vernacular landscape and the Center's mission of ecological study and sustainability. The design investigates the occupation of the edges between conditions: inside and outside, forest and field, ground and sky, plants and stone. The open field provides a foreground to the building on the hill. Garden spaces relate the building to the open landscape of the meadow and parking and shaded forest below. The relationships among the three conditions are made evident through the specifics of program and site.

• 1 Meadow Walks

• Lawn alternatives, wildflower meadows with mown paths, alternative wastewater treatment

• 3 Ellipse Garden

• Elliptical garden marked by placed glacial erratics and gravel walkways

• 5 Porch/Entry

• Existing wrap-around porch extended to connect building and site on all sides

• 2 Field Parking

• GravelPave system, boulder markers, temporary parking, surface runoff bioswale, channels at grade that transport runoff to bioswale

• 4 Lawn Court

• Flat plinth around building with lawn for volleyball and a catering tent.

• 6 Rhododendron Garden

• Grass lawn at existing rhododendron grove, with stairs down to terrace and woodland trail