Direct Design Assistance: Case Study Home Sustainable Landscape Plan, St. Paul, 2003

This landscape design is for one of several case study home designs developed to promote design excellence in affordable housing that is also sustainable, healthy to occupy, and beautiful. The home was designed by colleagues in the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (CALA) and is being developed by The Amherst H. Wilder Foundation and the Greater Frogtown Community Development Corporation. The Design Center was asked to create a landscape plan that respected the intent of the building and design philosophy and was flexible enough to accommodate the needs and interests of future residents, who are not yet known.

Often the landscape of affordable housing is given little consideration, or is pared down to bare minimums of turf and a foundation shrub. This design plan assumes that a more complex landscape would better serve the long-term needs of residents and the neighborhood. The plan is guided by research showing that ecologically innovative yards should be informed by the norms of yards and cues of yard care in nearby homes.

Because the indoor living space is not excessive, maximizing the use of outdoor space is also important, with the assumption that a variety of age groups will be using the space. Smooth, flat walking and seating areas are complemented by turf and swingset area for active play. Areas of taller shrubs provide privacy, facilitate creative play, and attract birds to the yard.

Research into multi-family housing has demonstrated that personalization of outdoor areas is a factor in resident satisfaction, and this plan assumes the same is true of a single family house. Spaces for different functions are well defined with plants or walkways, with places left open for planting choices of future residents. The design also draws from the disciplines of landscape ecology and stormwater management to propose sustainable strategies for the very small urban lot.

The design document shows existing conditions and opportunities of this 40 foot by 120 foot site and outlines three categories of landscape design considerations: outdoor livability; plant and animal life; water, climate and air quality. The site plan shows how this can be accomplished using plant materials and building materials available at low-cost home improvement stores. Plants are described by the form and growing requirements, with a suggested species that would fill that role.

Download: Case Study Home Sustainable Landscape Plan (1.2 MB)

Outcome: The front yard has now been constructed.

As a follow up, the Design Center is also involved in citizen participation and yard design for more homes in phase two of this project, funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Background References:

Center for Watershed Protection. 1998. Better Site Design: A Handbook for Changing Development Rules in Your Community. Ellicott City MD: Site Planning Roundtable.

Dramstad, Wenche E. and James D. Olson, and Richard T.T. Forman. 1996. Landscape Ecology Principles in Landscape Architecture and Land-Use Planning. Washington DC: Island Press, Harvard University Graduate School of Design and the American Society of Landscape Architects.

Marcus, Clare Cooper and Wendy Sarkissian. 1986. Housing As If People Mattered: Site Design Guidelines for Medium-Density Family Housing. Berkeley:University of California Press.

Sand, Peggy. 1993. Energysaving Landscapes: The Minnesota Homeowner’s Guide. St. Paul: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.