PROJECT SPOTLIGHTS
APRIL IS WORLD LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MONTH
March 14, 2024
April is World Landscape Architecture Month (WLAM). This month-long celebration, established by the American Society of Landscape Architects, celebrates the vital role of landscape architecture in shaping healthy, resilient, and beautiful places for all, advocate for the profession, and inspire the next generation of Landscape Architects.
In celebration of WLAM, we have picked two of our dynamic public and private projects, recently designed by the talented team at Camp & Camp
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT: THE ARROYO RESIDENCE
The Arroyo, is a 6 story high density apartment building located in Walnut Creek, CA. Recognized by the Senate and Legislature for excellence in design, it also received a claim for the Pacific Coast Builder Conference and the City’s Annual Architectural Awards Program. The crowning jewel is a water sculpture entitled “Flock of Mallards” and is visible from the public street. It was a creation by Lloyd Le Blanc, in a collaborative effort with CCA and his Leicestershire, England studio. Podium amenities include a Zen garden, water wall, multiple fountains, outdoor arbor structures, full rooftop kitchen, swimming pool & lounge area.
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT: WATSON RESIDENCE
Among the rolling hills of Lafayette, sits a tranquil 20 acre property and the home of John and Diane Watson. As the CEO of Chevron, the property required confidential development planning in this pristine Oak Woodland environment. Storm water control was handled through the creation of a marshland designed for the ornithological interest of Diane. Planting materials were recommended from the Western Ornithology Society with properties to influence migratory habits of certain wild fowl in the Briones ecosystem. The estate still manages to incorporate, pools, outdoor amphitheater, strolling gardens, sport court, golf training facility and countless other private amenities.
3D ANIMATIONS
March 14, 2024
Shadeland SportsMall, Walnut Creek, CA
The Shadelands SportsMall is a 220,000 sq ft, cutting-edge sports training supercenter in Walnut Creek, CA. It gathers 10 high-caliber sports programs in a centrally located facility, offering state-of-the-art equipment and training methods, and ultimately, significant time savings and convenience for busy athletes and their families.
Through the quagmire of CEQA approvals, sensitive habitat observations and the various EIR element compliances, CCA assisted Hall Equities in the Site Planning and Landscape Architectural segment of the landmark project.
Fisher Barn, Marsh Creek Road, Brentwood, CA
So what do you do with a large ranch property with an old barn, well over 100 years old? Simple. Make the barn your new home. Lift it up, reinforce it, set it down on a new foundation, comedize the heck out of it and carve out a circular acre for its garden setting. CCA was asked to assist with the Architectural design, and interior Floor Planning for the structure as well as the family friendly amenities for outdoor living among an olive grove, citrus orchard, sports accommodations, and a large plaza for dining, a fire lounge and congregating. Check out the video.
DRUE RESIDENCE
April 25, 2019
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT: DRUE RESIDENCE
A lesson in mitigating slope and maximizing luxurious livability
With its magnificent pool and spa setting, outdoor kitchen, vegetable gardens and meandering pathways, the Drue Residence in Lafayette is an outdoor entertainer’s dream.
But it did not begin this way.
Camp and Camp was hired to solve the homeowner’s challenge and desire to create a usable rear yard on a 2:1 slope with a relatively small flat area at the base. Originally the project was ignited by the owners’ need for a larger parking garage and accessory dwelling unit along with a desire for outdoor entertaining.
Camp and Camp’s design team looked for creative solutions at every turn including lifting the pool edge so they could gain two vertical feet. From there, a raised bond beam set the stage for the rear pool wall and the elevated spa above. The final ascension to the pinnacle of the property: the exterior fireplace and roasting pit, and its adjacent living area, serves as the ideal outdoor entertaining and gathering place with views of the Diablo Valley.
The design team also optimized conditions for the property’s thriving vegetable and herb gardens. Each zone of the yard is accessible through meandering garden walkways with stone slab stairs.
APRIL IS WORLD LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MONTH
April 23, 2019
April is World Landscape Architecture Month (WLAM), an international celebration of designed spaces around the world. This month-long celebration of landscape architecture and design, established by the American Society of Landscape Architects, aims to demonstrate how landscape architecture affects our daily lives.
In celebration of WLAM, we have picked two of our dynamic public and private projects, recently designed by the talented team at Camp & Camp.
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT: SARANAP VILLAGE
Once a lost railroad town, this now dated commercial area is set to transform into vibrant village living and retail businesses near Downtown Walnut Creek
Camp and Camp is honored to have been selected by Hall Equities Group to handle the urban planning and landscape design for Saranap Village—a mixed-use revitalization project located in West Walnut Creek, at the intersection of Boulevard Way and Saranap Avenue. Retail highlights may include a high-quality grocer, family friendly sit-down restaurant, wine bar, and local coffee shop. The residential component of the project will include apartments as well as condominiums and townhomes.
Camp and Camp is involved in the extensive public infrastructure improvements, including the design of a landscaped roundabout featuring a site specific public art structure, that emphasizes a village environment.
“Saranap Village is a dynamic, out-of-the-box project with so many creative facets at play. It’s thrilling for us to collaborate with such a visionary developer and talented design team,” said Terry Camp. “The history of the site is also truly fascinating. Saranap is perhaps one of the last public right-of-ways in the County. The County’s plan originally called for a wider expressway, as it had been expanding as an industrial and commercial area over time. However, at Saranap’s core is a robust community, with great history and tremendous potential—an area ripe for redevelopment. Our client’s vision was to see a true village, giving a sense of place and community, allowing Saranap its rightful place in the vibrant mix of Walnut Creek.”
Saranap Village’s urban plan and architectural design ethos, above all, set out to create a vibrant, pedestrian friendly environment. This will be accomplished by narrowing roadways and creating a roundabout to slow traffic, adding street parking for tenants and visitors, as well as designing public plazas. A dramatic sense of arrival is experienced via unique signage and a striking public art installation soaring 25-foot high—all of which will adds vitality to this new shopping and living district.
Saranap’s history is yet another interesting tale. An unincorporated pocket near the freeway interchange, where 24 meets 680, you could drive from Lafayette to Walnut Creek and pass through Saranap without ever knowing it. Saranap is a long-lost railroad town and, ironically, the only place that honors it is the Saranap Filling Station at the cross of Boulevard Way and Olympic Boulevard. The filling station sits where the train depot used to. This dates back to 1911, when passenger service on the Oakland & Antioch line came down from Bay Point, headed for San Francisco Bay. By 1913, it took just an hour and a half, by ferry and electric rail, to get from the city to the destination called Ramon Junction. Summer homes sprouted up. Soon a branch line to Danville was in the works, and it was decided that Ramon Junction needed a more dignified name. Thus, the name Saranap was born from one of the two main landowners’ mother, Sara Napthaly—an abridgement her first and last names.