Location: Menlo Park, California
Architect: Schwartz and Architecture

Photography: Jason Liske

Rhythm and fluidity are achieved through repetition and the strategic placement of elements creating dynamic tension within the outdoor spaces of this Menlo Park home. At the ground level, custom geometric stone paving gracefully meets and intertwines with linear stone patterning, breaking one rhythmic motif and transitioning into another. A fire element, designed around an existing Oak Tree, is incorporated to give a powerful visual of the dancing fire accentuated by the whimsical tree growth. Keeping the client in mind, a hypo-allergenic plant palette was chosen for this home. All of the stormwater sheet flows to a large central courtyard area which will act as a retention basin during times of high precipitation, keeping all of the stormwater on the site.