Form and Function

Form and function are the equivalent of beauty and intelligence to architecture. Of course any design element needs to perform its job well but a well-designed element does it beautifully.

The Tripp family of Montgomery County contacted us at Martin Shaw, LLC needing to accomplish two important goals. Their home sits on the corner lot of a busy development and had no privacy. Lots in the neighborhood are small and the Tripps needed a way to access their backyard from a second story door while staying with-in the limited building envelope. They needed a staircase, patio and privacy but wanted an attractive entertaining space, garden and yard that their growing family could enjoy. I won’t lie; their design was a challenge. I played with a number of ideas, shapes and elevations, coming to dead ends several times after realizing my concept did not fit the requirements. It may be hard to believe but the smallest projects can often be the most difficult, but also offer the greatest satisfaction.

Sure enough, we finally came up with a solution that would give the homeowners an expanded grilling and entertaining space on the upper floor, then get them efficiently to a ground level patio, given privacy by some of their favorite trees and shrubs. To minimize the need for furniture surrounding the fire pit they wanted, we designed a seating wall to allow for efficient use of the small patio. Additional storage was created beneath the proposed deck. Since this landscape had to look as beautiful as it functioned we chose a random pattern bluestone patio complimented by bluestone veneer and caps on the wall. Landscape lighting creates safety while emphasizing texture in the stone wall and highlighting the shape of specimen trees.

The Tripps Georgian Colonial style home is built in a neighborhood of mixed American and European styles. Their homeowners association created guidelines designed to encourage individuality and an organic neighborhood feeling to the development. The HOA Manual of Design Guidelines requires that the landscape of each home remain appropriate to the architecture. Our design philosophy is to create landscapes appropriate to the home, but with a mandate to follow it was especially important to honor the traditional style of the house and allow for the eclectic style of their neighborhood. The bluestone patio, wall and all plantings reflected the traditional historical nature of their architecture. Many of the plants used are native to South Eastern Pennsylvania, while others are English garden classics used by generations of settlers to the area. Privacy is created by a hedge of Arborvitea. In consideration of drivers though, the hedge does not extend to the corner where it could obstruct the view of on-coming traffic.

To meet budget concerns the project has been broken two phases; the patio and plantings were completed this fall, the deck and steps are proposed for installation in the coming spring. The following photos illustrate our design and progress of the construction thus far. It may look simple now – but, just wait until the deck is complete and the plants have leafed out! With the Yoshino Cherry, Lilac, Peony and Serviceberry in spring bloom this little project will be a big attraction. Most importantly though our clients are enjoying it in the fall, even at this phase, when they can finally use that fire pit they have been waiting for.