SEA RANCH
Property of Sea Ranch Association, Lawrence Halprin, Landscape Architect
Sea Ranch, California. Located on the coast of California, 100 miles north of San Francisco, Sea Ranch reflects Lawrence Halprin’s respect for the processes of nature, his appreciation for wild beauty, and his commitment to the ideas of ecological planning. Working with a planning team of foresters, geologists, engineers, and the architectural firm Moore Lyndon Turnbull and Whitaker, a design evolved that incorporated clustered buildings, modern in form and massing, which were built from vernacular materials. This massing allowed for unobstructed views and large areas of open meadows throughout the site. Hedgerows, plant groupings of native species, and berms sheltered the buildings from coastal winds and created protected areas for recreation. (For more information see the Cultural Landscape Foundation website, http://tclf.org/landscapes/sea-ranch).
NAUMKEAG
Property of the Trustees of Reservations, Fletcher Steel, Landscape Architect
Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Built as a Picturesque summer home for the Choate family, Naumkeag originally included a 40-acre farm with greenhouses, vegetable gardens, and a 44-room, Gilded Age mansion designed by architects McKim, Mead & White. Mabel Choate inherited Naumkeag from her mother in 1929 and commissioned Fletcher Steele, often considered America’s first Modernist landscape architect. Fletcher Steele and Mabel Choate worked in collaboration on the design of Naumkeag from 1929 until 1956. It was the longest commission of his career (for more information see Cultural Landscape Foundation website, http://tclf.org/landscapes/naumkeag).
