Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado (ALCC) Grand Award Winner

Perched high above the valley floor in the Cordillera Valley Club, the Juniper Lane residence rises from the arid hillside as if set in place from above. Design considerations included preservation of existing junipers with sparse under-story vegetation, respect for ravines directing water during rain events, and views focused within the site and beyond. This unique design/build landscape is characterized by careful limitations of disturbance, thoughtful circulation, definition of space, superb stone work, and a plant palette that blends arid garden spaces with the sparse native condition. Program elements include an entry sequence, natural water feature, site circulation, garden spaces, dry streambed, and barbeque terrace.

The driveway was sited to curve and ascend between existing clusters of trees; the arrival at the home is introduced by boulder retaining with arid plantings rising to meet with structural walls extended from the home. An open bridge between the driveway and front entry allows the existing ravine below to stay intact, offering a unique tree-top view passing by the most sculptural juniper on the site, while an on-grade path provides access to the tree’s gnarled roots and the water feature below. Just beyond the juniper, an interior bridge at the home’s entry foyer crosses over a native ravine that became the framework for the water feature. Prior to construction of the water feature, a mock-up was built to illustrate the close connection between soil, plants, water, and stone. Subtle, stepping weirs constructed of layered stone, with shallow intermediate pools and opportunistic planting were inspired by the washed out character of the site’s ravines. Stonework used to form the water feature was phased out to gently deconstruct back to natural conditions.

In the backyard, where the water feature originates from a dry stream bed constructed with a similar stacked appearance, site circulation and an intimate barbeque terrace are nestled between the hillside and the home to provide respite from highway noise below. Xeric plant material was deftly layered to start with dense plantings near the home transitioning to enhanced revegetation areas that blend into site specific revegetation at outlying areas; all of which was done with consideration of site microclimates.

The Juniper Lane Residence draws inspiration from its surroundings to evoke a strong sense of place. The design/build team met the project’s challenge, to integrate a complex program into the native hillside with a thorough design process and careful construction phasing.