Labyrinth Landscape

Objective: Legacy home rebuild after fire. Landscape to offer areas of reflection, greeny/ beauty in the recently burnt area of the Rocky Mountain National park and areas to enjoy the surrounding mountain views while screen other areas from the wind.
Challenges: Maintaining drainage and establishing new areas of drainage based on a new building foot print. The client was in a new building phase when a large fire spread across many acres of land that included their home. This a second rebuild with an additional area of expansion that ended up creating new draining patterns around the residence. Another challenge was incorporating an existing observatory with a memorial landscape design for the owners to enjoy and reflect on loved ones and still keep sky access to observe the night sky.
Resolution: For the drainage we established areas for cobble swales, natural re-vegetated swales with native grasses and gravel treated areas. There are several pathways in the landscape to access seating or maze features. Along many of the paths are flagstone bridges over areas of high drainage or cobble swales.
Near the observatory is a maze designed for a short walk and a bench placed on the side to watch the river and mountains or view the sky. There is a large moss rock fire pit area on a lower set patio to enjoy river views and a fire without disrupting the observatory.