Big Sur Retreat

Envisioned as a private retreat, the project balances the need for functional outdoor space with the goal of celebrating the natural materials and aesthetics of the site. The landscape materials, reclaimed timbers, regional granite and gravel, and a climatically appropriate plant palette further enhance a sense of harmony between this extraordinary site and the local environs. The resulting landscape provides a series of terraces, meandering pathways and stone seating walls to serve the client’s needs for view destinations and casual entertaining. Built form references nature, with sinuous, overlapping walls that echo the tidal patterns of the ocean below. Paving patterns formed by a mosaic of locally quarried stones found inspiration through textures observed in coastal erosion and deposition along the bluffs and shoreline below. Conventional garden elements such as fountains, an outdoor shower and firepit celebrate the rugged vernacular of the Big Sur coast.

Project completed while with Ground Studio