Edgewater.

A waterfront terrace in Tiburon, set in stone.

Plate
11
Location
Tiburon, California
Site
0.74 acres
Scope
II · Design + build

Status

Design + build · Scope II · seasonal Stewardship

Begin a similar brief All plates

I.PLATE 11 · INTRODUCTION

The brief,
in short.

A small Tiburon waterfront. We held the existing stone seawall and drew a terrace from the back door to it; planting is a restrained palette of grasses and a single Carpinus that frames the view to Angel Island.

II.I. THE BRIEF

The brief

A retired couple, professional cooks both, who'd lived at Edgewater for forty years. They wanted something that read as quiet. Not minimal — quiet. The existing stone seawall was a hundred years old; we held it.

Bluestone terrace at seawall — PLATE 11.A · Terrace narrowing toward the seawall

III.II. THE SITE

The site

Three-quarters of an acre running south to the water. Existing seawall in good condition. A century-old apple at the eastern edge that the homeowner asked us to keep. North-easterly views to Angel Island; the question was always where to look from.

Carpinus framing the view — PLATE 11.B · Carpinus, pruned to frame Angel Island

IV.III. THE INTERVENTION

III

The intervention

A bluestone terrace from the back door to a small viewing platform at the seawall. The terrace is wider where it meets the door (entertaining) and narrower at the water (one chair, one glass). A single Carpinus betulus stands east of the platform — pruned annually so it frames Angel Island instead of obscuring it.

V.IV. THE PLANTING

The planting

Restrained. Stipa tenuissima as a soft margin to the terrace. Pennisetum 'Hameln' in three drifts at the seawall. Lavandula 'Provence' along the apple-tree edge. The Carpinus is the only specimen; it carries the structure.

VI.V. MAINTENANCE PLAN

Maintenance plan

Seasonal Stewardship — spring walk in April, autumn walk in October. Carpinus pruned each February. Grasses cut back in March. Apple tree consulted on every two years by a fruit-tree specialist; the homeowner harvests every September.

VII.MATERIALS · PLANT SCHEDULE

4 MATERIALS · 5 SPECIES

MATERIALS