Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Boston Courtyard Landscape Design Project - Back Bay: Boston, MA

This is a job we did in Boston's back bay for two clients of mine, Chris and Alex. We came up with a very simplistic patio, planting and fountain design. The design allowed for a large paved area for seating, planting beds that could be added to over time and a restored fountain from the early 1900's.

First, we restored the fountain and moved it from its former central location to the back left corner of the courtyard, allowing for more usable seating space. We then installed a biomorphic patio using red clay brick pavers that complemented the homes existing brick.

The existing slate patio (as seen below) was set in dirt which made the space unusable in any form of damp or wet weather. Chris & Alex had a great space, it just needed some tlc to bring their courtyard up to par. The most unique part of this job was that all work was done by hand, using shovels and wheelbarrows. All material, whether coming in or out, had to be wheeled up or down 10 steps and brought through a narrow alley way into the courtyard.


We installed the main body of pavers using a herringbone pattern and a curved border. We do not use plastic edging to hold our patio or walkway borders because I believe it detracts from the end product. We prefer to mix up concrete and run it tapered along the edge of the patio or walkway always keeping the concrete height below the brick which allows us to solidify the edge while also keeping the concrete hidden.


The restored Fountain from the 1900's came out quite nicely and ties in well with the brick courtyard.


To contact Ryan Wikman, the owner of WikWorks, Inc, visit our contact page or visit our website.

1 comment:

  1. Landscaping design methods mainly cope with enhancing the artistic appeal of land.

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