Gunn Landscape Architecture, PLLC.

Snow. Good or Bad?

rb — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:38:01 +0000

What does the snow do for the landscape? The snow can cause damage from fallen tree limbs, plows, salt, and shovels. We at Gunn are already preparing for the upcoming maintenance issues that will affect our projects this spring. But at the same time, snow does great things for plants in the garden. It helps prevent frost heaves in plants’ root systems, while providing insulation, nitrogen, other nutrients, and water. The old wives tales called snow “the poor man’s fertilizer.” Good or bad, get your rest now, the garden is waiting – spring is near.

Circulation Patterns

rb — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:27:53 +0000

A bulk of our design focus is spent on thinking about and designing pathways, driveways, auto courts, and other circulation patterns. The driveway functions in a transitional capacity, leading visitors through a sequence of events from the public road to the private residence. When designed correctly, driveways can create a wonderful, welcoming experience for the visitor by winding them through a series of plantings and directing glimpses to focal points – a true Olmsted design. Other driveway designs may try to conserve space and maximize efficiency by providing a direct route from the road to the residence or have a gravel auto court planted with trees which allows the parking to be incorporated into the garden – a true modern design. These types of driveway treatment can minimize the amount of hard surfaces and maximize the amount space given to the garden and help provide a green design. Google Earth has many wonderful images of Hampton’s circulation patterns at every different shape and scale that reflect the value of a successful planned driveway and auto court.

Organic and Sustainable Gardening

rb — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 19:11:53 +0000

A special thanks to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden for hosting Three Decades in the Garden at Highgrove, a lecture by Debs Goodenough. Debs spoke about Highgrove’s transformation over the past 30 years, the organic design and maintenance practices that have been implemented, and the estate’s overarching goal of sustainability. Highgrove’s maintenance and design goals are similar to what we at Gunn strive to incorporate in each of our garden design projects – the use of organics in planting areas and lawn spaces, stormwater management practices, and implementing renewable resource materials. Our use of sustainable design and planning strategies educates our clients and helps make a greener planet.

Roof Gardens help Reforest Cities

rb — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:28:31 +0000

In a recent posting we described the use of roof gardens in NYC and how many of them can be seen from the street. Not only do roof gardens add aesthetic value to the city, they also contribute to the creation of sustainable environments. Last month, Urban Omnibus’ article, Clip on Architecture: Reforesting Cities, outlined several ways in which existing structures can be adapted to help mitigate the effects of climate change. At Gunn, we incorporate many of these strategies in our roof garden projects. Reforesting urban spaces by planting trees and photosynthesizing plants will help facilitate the absorption of carbon from the atmosphere through the photosynthesizing processes of vegetation.

Gunn at Plant-O-Rama

rb — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:47:36 +0000

Yesterday, our office met at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for the 14th annual Plant-O-Rama horticultural trade show and symposium co hosted with the Metro Hort Group. We attended three lectures demonstrating the trials and tribulations of urban, sustainable, and country landscapes: How Plants Soften and Civil Landscapes by Lynden B. Miller; Garden Roof Design and Maintenance by Ed Snodgrass; and Non-Stop Plants: A Garden for 365 Days by Margaret Roach. Though the projects discussed varied in scale and application, a recurring theme for a successful garden was maintenance. Without proper landscape maintenance, the ultimate design goal of the landscape architect or garden designer is never accomplished, and Gunn is constantly involved with ongoing maintenance of all of our projects.

Why to Blog, Text, and Tweet Redux: Tips and Tricks

rb — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 18:12:12 +0000

Thank you AIANY Marketing and Public Relations Committee for presenting: Why to Blog, Text, and Tweet Redux: Tips and Tricks. Life at HOK’s, Archi-Tectonics’, & Architizer’s demonstrations on the importance of connecting social networking to the marketing of architecture and design were informative and will aid our firm in the early stages of our blog. We look forward to your next event.

In Progress: NYC West Village Garden

rb — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:43:18 +0000

This West Village Garden, designed by Gunn and being installed by Vert Gardens, is currently in progress and includes a limestone terrace with a stainless steel arbor, a vegetable garden with a potting table, and an outdoor kitchen. Check back when the work is completed.

Roof Gardens

admin — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:37:10 +0000

A large focus of our New York City office is to create roof gardens for private residences, corporate offices, and building common spaces. Especially in the middle of Manhattan, roof gardens are an incredibly valuable extension of the interior, where people can find a peaceful, lush retreat (and just a bit more square footage) amongst the bustling streets and sounds of the city, Next time you’re walking along the street, look up – chances are you’ll see a gunn garden.

In progress: SoHo Spa Roof Garden

admin — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:38:23 +0000

The Spa Terrace at Trump, designed by Gunn in collaboration with DiGuiseppe Architects, is currently in progress and includes a pool with a water wall, lounge areas, spa treatments, cabanas, a fountain, bar, bocce court and more. Check back when the work is completed.

Welcome to the New Gunn Landscape Architecture Website

admin — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 19:14:38 +0000

With the help of Tom Smith Design, we have updated our look and project roster to include our most recently completed projects in Connecticut, the Hamptons, Florida, and of course, in New York City. A new fixture to our site will be this weekly blog, which will explore our works in progress, as well as ideas and products that inspire our office, ranging from art and design to horticulture, engineering and construction. We hope you enjoy what you read and visit weekly for updates.