Sweet Auburn: The Magazine of the Friends A Landscape of Remembrance and Reflection | Page 13

sweet auburn | 2020 volume i
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Even for the most experienced designers and clients,
landscapes can be difficult to visualize. Scale and
context are ever-shifting as one moves through
horizontal and vertical space and the feel of a place
is fleeting as the days turn into seasons. At Michael
Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA), we rely on our
experience and our instincts but also hedge our bets by
making site mock-ups of crucial components during
the design phase, before final construction documents
are made. At Hazel Path, the boulders were particularly
difficult to visualize. Selection of size, quantity, and
distribution was done by staking the stone footprints
in the woodland and photographing them from
multiple angles (1). From there an accurate stone list
was made, serving as a guide for “tagging” boulders
at the source (2). Once the stones were selected, an
MVVA intern accurately measured the tagged stones,
carved a facsimile of each from foam, and placed them
on a topographic model at the office, affording lastminute
adjustments (3). These steps enabled everyone
to proceed with confidence and made the installation
more efficient.
The design began with circulation. Hazel Path
itself was the organizing thread, creating the main
vantage point for experiencing the entire landscape—
from within. Curating its bends, width, steepness,
adjacencies, and views was the first step in the design.
Swinging the path out, as was shown in the historic
maps, created unfolding experiences that shifted
between landscape and the built environment. The
Fuller obelisks and Washington Tower come in and
out of view, lending their magnificence as part of the
experience without making the path feel like it was
simply aimed at a building. The path width swells here
and there, making room for stacked boulders that do
double duty as slope retention and seating. Shredded
and compacted mulch was selected for the walking
surface because it is quiet underfoot, and it was proven
to be stable and durable on Myrtle Path.
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