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We'd like to share with you two residential designs of Kurisu International, both in relatively small towns with open spaces and some breathing room, but within close proximity to urban centers: the Los Altos Hills residence in Northern California, about 35 miles south of San Francisco; the Lake Oswego residence in Northern Oregon, just south of Portland.
Designer: Hoichi Kurisu, president & principal designer, Kurisu International
Construction: four months. Hoichi Kurisu and Kurisu International, Inc.
The initial contact with the client was to maintain the existing garden. In walking the pool and garden areas, however, it became apparent that the client was not happy with much of the design and materials of the garden. Kurisu International's design team went to work with designs and material selection that would transform the garden, while working with the existing shell of the swimming pool. The focal element in the overall design was the illusion of a cascading waterfall on the upper level appearing to flow into the swimming pool. The swimming pool was reconfigured with a zero-edge spillway on the lakeside. "The two waterfalls and the swimming pool appear to be a continuous system," explains Michael Ellena, general manager of Kurisu International.
The only access to the construction area was from the lake, so all equipment and material was moved by barge. The boat deck had to be reinforced to handle the increased weight.
Demolition began on the existing cedar deck surrounding the pool. Retaining walls were installed to surround the existing pool shell and provide the foundation for the new slate pool deck. A special piece of equipment called a Spider backhoe, able to crawl up 45-degree slopes and level itself, was required for much of the work. The Spider backhoe was used for excavation, grading, material placement, 100 tons of boulder setting, and specimen plant setting. Gunite and concrete were pumped in from the street a distance of 150 to 200 feet for water features and the pool deck.
Designer: Hoichi Kurisu, president & principal designer, Kurisu International
Construction: six months. Hoichi Kurisu and Kurisu International, Inc.
The Los Altos Hills owner wanted Kurisu to design "something interesting and inviting in the Japanese-style, with a koi pond." The long distance from the street to the main entrance of the house presented the first design challenge, plus an established landscape already existed. To satisfy the client's design wishes, the landscaping was demolished and redesigned. [My favorite way to meet a challenge: Demolish it!] The devastation gave way to a front yard entry path done in China Rose slate, designed by Hoichi Kurisu "according to Japanese garden design principles of proportion," with Japanese black pine bordering the path and plantings of lace-leaf maple, azalea, Japanese maples and beech trees.
The second challenge? "We found that just two inches below the ground was entirely clay. This posed planting and drainage issues, requiring us to import soil and install drainage with catch basins all over," explains Michael Ellena, Kurisu's general manager. An overall challenge, in an aesthetic sense, was to harmonize the new landscape, including the koi pond, which of course relates to Japanese gardens, to the Mediterranean-style stucco house.
To unify the Mediterranean house with the exterior landscape, Kurisu used a "geometrical line approach, guided by Japanese landscape design principles of proportion." Mr. Ellena explains, "Planting-wise, we incorporated reddish color schemes to harmonize with the house color. Fortunately this area is a microclimate that allows many materials traditionally used in Japanese gardens to grow - from Black pine to Japanese maple, and small plants like nandina to barberries, and so on. We created three water features, in addition to the swimming pool: a cascading waterfall, creek, and pond at the front entrance, one water basin, and one in the interior courtyard. Angular boulders were selected to fit with the linear, geometric design elements."
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