BAKER RESIDENCE
Featured in Ad Italia’s September issue, this countryside estate situated on 90 acres of Midwestern farmland is a stunner inside and out. The home and landscape were inspired the by client’s English agrarian roots, complete with arable land for organic farming, alpacas, a walled garden, cutting flower garden, and plenty of spaced for entertaining.
PROJECT ROLES
This is one of my “baby projects”—one of the first I saw through construction. It remains a favorite, both for that milestone and for the many opportunities I had to shape the design along the way.
My involvement included:
Creating design studies and diagrams
Developing site layouts
Producing drawings from schematic design through construction documents
Participating in site visits and developing mockups
Detailing walls, stairs, paving, and other site element
MASTERPLAN - PHOTOSHOP
RENDERINGS - SKETCHUP/LUMION
3D modeling helps clients see how a landscape design will look and feel before it is built. It is often an exciting stage of the process: ideas that were once lines on a plan begin to take shape as spaces they can imagine using.
Because 2D plans can make complex grades and spatial relationships difficult to understand, I use 3D models to show elevations, materials, and how design elements work together. This gives clients a clearer picture of the design and helps us make informed decisions together.
DESIGN DETAILING IN AUTOCAD
The site required careful coordination of several substantial masonry elements, including walls, a custom stone fireplace, and varied paving conditions. Grading was especially important: it had to manage drainage while accommodating the structures across uneven terrain.
I worked through these conditions in the details, considering how the wall footings would meet changing grades and how the fireplace foundation would support its weight. The resulting design brought the masonry and paving together as a cohesive landscape.
MASONRY DETAILING - ENTRY COLUMN
MASONRY DETAILING - STAIRS
SITE PHOTOS
WATER, WATER, WATER
Managing runoff became a major challenge during pond construction. Unusually heavy rainfall overwhelmed the initial drainage and erosion control measures, displacing soil and washing out some of the newly planted crops before they could establish.
We responded by adding temporary soil barriers, improving drainage channels, and monitoring the site for new problem areas. Once construction was complete and conditions had dried, we regraded the affected area. Continued monitoring will happen during the CLM phase to see how well these changes perform during future rain events.
