Cloud Box Garden

Cloud Box Garden

This entry garden for a private neighborhood residence reinforces the owners’ sense of entry and privacy. The design mitigates the aggressive grade change from the house to the public sidewalk with garden terraces, and creates a serene private entry space with a large hedge along the street.

The concept for the entry garden is the Cloud Box Garden, which is a dream-like “decompression chamber” between the outside, public world and the inside, private world. A bold hedge projects a strong volume to the street, acting hyper-contextual by drawing from the Magnolia Neighborhood and the estate aesthetic, yet also bravely surprising with the introduction of a geometric volume where one expects openness. Within the Cloud Box Garden, the plants take the role of a shimmering atmosphere that blends with or concentrates the air, light, and sky beyond. At the base of the steps, one is fully immersed in silvery foliage. As one ascends toward the opening and the house, the plants part and become a ‘cloud layer’ below that softly insulates the calm realm of the home and serve as the glowing horizon for views out.

Details

Location: Seattle, WA
Size: 0.075 acres
Client: Confidential
Completion Date: 2014

Project Team

GGN, Landscape Architect
Nussbaum Group, Landscape Contractor and Maintenance

Services Provided

Conceptual Design–Construction Administration