Oak Woods Residence
The spaces around the house were re-envisioned, with larger decks, a seeping waterfall, well-defined entertainment spaces, and new play areas for the kids.
The site is a rare jewel: three acres in the suburbs of the Twin Cities that sport some significant slopes and numerous gnarled bur oaks within a forest flush with native species. The current site plan, however, is utilitarian: an open space for the house and surrounding lawns and decks simply cut from the forest.
The owners came to Treeline because they wanted to take better avantage both of the open sunny areas and the deep shady woods. They wanted to have a variety of experiences for themselves, for their young children, and for the three adults with special needs that share their home. Treeline designed a series of seven outdoor rooms: pine forest, woodland gazebo, high point, oak grove, adventure play, vernal pool, and food garden. They are arranged in a loose ring around the main house and would be linked by a trail system. The spaces near the home are re-envisioned, with larger decks and water and sand play areas for the kids.
Currently, the transitions from the lawn to the woods are abrupt -- generally a scraggly line where the forest shrubs take over from the mown turf. Treeline's concept makes that edge seem more deliberate, by either proposing hard edges (like stone walls and wood decks) that create definitive lines between forest and home, or by creating transition zones between lawn and woods. These transition zones would be planted with low-growing native perennials and ornamental understory trees, both of which would allow views to extend farther into the woodland. These Jens Jensen-esque plantings would bring the forest gradually into the inhabited landscape and vice versa, making the home seem placed within a woodland meadow rather than hacked from the trees.
The family is using the master plan to manage the open and forested areas of the site, and they are currently considering when to construct the rooms, trail system, decks, and other designed elements.