Ten years ago the owners of a half-acre property in Portland contracted president and founder Hoichi Kurisu of Kurisu International to landscape their home. They were so enchanted with the results that when they decide to create an outdoor space with a swimming pool for parties and family gatherings, they contacted him again.
Kurisu didn't just bring in a few plants to soften the swimming pool area. Instead, he approached this design by considering the whole of the space, and created a backyard sanctuary. The original Jacuzzi was integrated with a strolling garden, footbridge, swimming pool, spa, koi pond, waterfall and two streams cascading into a pool.
"He's a genius," says the homeowner, who wishes to maintain his privacy. "Before, the backyard was just a large, level, boring space. We never used it except for kicking around soccer balls. He's transformed it into a place of beauty, and now it's a focal point, and extension of our house."
All elements were integrated to create a cohesive space. A footbridge between the pool and koi pond spans the gap, connecting the features. A strolling garden leads from the hot tub through a small garden to the top of the waterfall. There, a bench overlooks the garden and pool and offers a partial view of Mt. Hood. "This is a mountain stroll across two streams to a destination where one can sit and take the garden in," says Kurisu. The path winds back down the other side to a cabana.
Because this outdoor area has a covered fireplace and infrared heating area, it is functional year around, even in the chilly Northwest winters. "During Christmas we had 30 kids in the swimming pool and guests sitting outside comfortably," says the owner. The expansive area can easily accommodate up to 100 people.
Kurisu met some challenges with his usual, inspired eye. Because the owners wanted a private setting and one of the neighbor's trees blocked a view of Mt. Hood, Kurisu situated the waterfall so it hid the neighbor's property from sight, and then built a man-made "mountain" out of soil from the swimming pool excavation to house the large pump equipment for the water feature. At the top is the platform with views of Mt. Hood.
The design is Northwest-natural style, which incorporates native materials as much as possible and creates a space that is harmonious with its surroundings. The basic elements are rock, plant and water. "We try to be sensitive to local elements, to plant palettes, native plants, even native rock," says Michael Ellena, Construction Manager at Kurisu. Native materials were used in this garden, including ferns, rhododendrons, azaleas, pieris japonica and mahonia, which is native to Oregon, not just the Northwest. Also used was Mica blue slate and over 160 tons of basalt boulders.
"It's critical that those elements blend together harmoniously and don't create tension," says Ellena of a design that is deceptively simple. "The intent is that as the garden matures, the plants will soften the structural hardscape, making it look natural through proper training and pruning."
Usually it takes a garden about two to three years to mature, but Kurisu also installs large specimens to give the garden instant maturity. In this case, the shore pines, over 30 years old, were trained and pruned in Kurisu's nurseries for years to develop their distinctive cloud structure before installation. "The pines are incredible," says the owner. "They are works of art."
Sculpted Japanese red pines, shore pines and several groupings of Japanese black pines grace the entrance, pathways and gardens. The entry is a particularly critical element in Kurisu's overall design. "We devote about a third of our resources on the entrance to set the mood," he says. "There's a sense of coming home to a special place, a sense of identity."
Seen from the street, the landscape is nothing spectacular. Rather, it unfolds gracefully, understated and elegant, as you drive past the brick gate pillars and shore pines at the entrance and through a colonnade of cherry trees, Hinoki cypress and a variety of shapes and textures. Each plant, each boulder, is placed with a purpose in mind. "When you glimpse a view around the trunk of a tree or through a group of trees to the rest of the landscape, you view yourself and your experience differently," says Kurisu. "Our goal is to lead the eye away from the foreground to rest on a calming view of the landscape."
Kurisu's garden designs are intended to cultivate peace of mind. They are therapeutic in nature, spaces where people can renew and reflect.
"They are meant to inspire people, to allow them to be one with nature," says Ellena. "Typically our clients lead pressured lives, and we want to provide the opportunity for them to seize the moment. Even if they're rushing out the door to the office and looking over their shoulder to catch a little vignette - the water basin, a bird poised for flight - subconsciously they can hold onto that image through the day."
"The nearby running creek and strength of the boulders relates to the soul in a primitive way. Being in a beautiful setting wakes us up and brings us back to ourselves." - Hoichi Kurisu
© Portrait of Portland