WILL RAK

This design was developed for a couple in Sammamish, whose land sits upon a Landslide Hazard Zone and Erosion Control Zone, both constituting Environmentally Critical Areas (ECA). Their existing yard featured a large, unwieldy and decaying deck that perched high above a steep slope with two existing waterfall features and the beautiful native forest below. This created a barrier around the living space that prevented the Johnsons from fully enjoying their yard. 

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The new design achieves the following:

• Constructing geotech-approved retaining walls to maximize level ground for the new patios

• Established a center of gravity for the outdoor living space at ground level that is in scale with the landscape around it

• Emphasized the existing waterfalls by making them an integral part of the design, with steps cascading down the slope beside them

• Planted four seasons of.color and interest that seamlessly blend into carefully chosen native plants below

• Placed new stewartia trees along the east lot line to provide privacy from the neighbors as well as four-season visual interest

• Ecologically restored the native forest within the landslide hazard zone buffer, using functional and aesthetically pleasing redtwig dogwood, evergreen huckleberry, Oregon grape, oceanspray, and sword ferns

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Working in the ECA required extensive permitting through the City of Sammamish, which subsequently required:

• Full architectural drawings for the newly proposed deck, patios, and wall footings

• Geological survey and report of recommendations by a geotechnical engineer

• Temporary Erosion and Sediment Control (TESC) plan by a civil engineer

• Construction detail for deck footings by a structural engineer

• Alternative tree protection measures by a certified arborist