2016-OL Ltd Designed & Built Projects Update – Okerstrom Lang Landscape Architects

OL Ltd of Built & Designed Projects Update

January 2017

This is a sampling some of our built and designed projects that are not on our Web page yet or in this detail.

Private Residence, Monterey, MA

OL Ltd on A/E Team led by Pamela Sandler, Architect
Plus, Surveyor, Civil Engineer, Structural Engineer. Interior Designer

OL Ltd collaborated with Architect and clients for all site and landscape projects before construction began including master plan, site and landscape designed projects from master plan.

We completed the Permits required from the Monterey Conservation Commission including Scenic Mountains Act and RFD for work along a BVW.

Design work included siting new carriage barn, drop off lane to new mud room / screen porch, layout, grading & drainage, lighting, outdoor shower, landscape, new lower septic field converted to native meadow, work along Lake Garfield waterfront, invasive species removal, etc.

Stone steps to new mud room & screen porch at Main House (circa 1895), plus ‘Bella’, one of our 2 Chihuahuas!

Sliced native boulder pathway, native boulders & steps, summer thru fall landscape design that flows with the wind. Low growing Sedums and Wooly Thyme planted between step stones.

View from Carriage Barn hot tub deck. Terraced native boulder retaining walls allow for main house expansion and drop-off lane. Walls planted with masses of tall ornamental grasses, mixed Daylilies and Hostas along the top. Filtered view of Lake Garfield to left.

View from main house of new screen porch, carriage barn, hot tub deck, terraced native boulder walls.

Mahogany deck is cantilevered and has glass railings to provide some wind protection and retain views of the woodlands and lake. Large Stewartia trees nestle in bed below the deck and partially screen the carriage barn from the screen porch. Mass plantings of mid-summer perennials are under these trees including Daylilies and Daisies.

Hot tub deck at carriage barn – cantilevered out to capture views of Lake Garfield and hills.

Family Compound, Claverack, NY

July 2015: View of southern side of main house. Existing slope ran towards house and required 8’ cut for new pool & play lawn

OL Ltd lead firm for all site and landscape projects after house was built in 2013 (Designed by Linda
Gatter, RA) including master plan, site and landscape designed projects from MPlan.

- - Master Plan work included is for the main house portion of the 80-acre property (about 5 acres).
  - Design elements include 18’ x 75 gunite swimming pool, large pool terrace, pool fence design, grading & drainage, hot tub environment, terraced stone amphitheater, extensive underground utility relocation and new utilities including electric service upgrade from 300 amp to 600 amp.
  - Detailed cost estimate which was used to determine which projects would be bid out.
  - OL Ltd was the Construction Manager for every project that was approved by the owners who wanted this work designed and completed in 11 months.

October 2015: underground utility relocation, rough grading, dig and form swimming pool.	November 2016: Pool forming, gunite, granite copings, close up for winter.
Late April 2016: pool grounding, electrical, concrete deck form work.	Mid May 2016: Steep grade change of 9’ creates large earth forms framing the play lawn and pool; pool gunited, spring water installed in pool, ready for clients to swim in pool for Memorial Day weekend.

July 4th Weekend 2016: South play lawn seed coming in and prairie grass seed just coming in on all steep slopes; pool fence completed using a large sweeping layout so fence will be screened by prairie grass.

August 29, 2016: View from west end of pool; main house to left. Prairie grass is getting established on the far steep slopes. Mixed ornamental grass “eyebrow” anchors west end of pool.

“Berkshire Asian”, Private Residence
Great Barrington, MA

OL Ltd lead firm for 2009 master plan with very hands-on owner.

Owner, who is a Recycling Engineer & Welder from NYC, designed the concrete water wier, created and welded the Corten steel pergola, Corten steel wier outfall. He has interests in Asian design and applies his interpretations wherever possible for the property.
Limestone boulders in courtyard are from the property. They were placed in a traditional Japanese “asymmetric balanced group” using a system of scalene triangles. Took one day to place these 5 stones!
OL Ltd selected plant materials at local Nurseries with Owner and installed as design-build.

Swimming Pool was opened in summer 2015. Gunite pool, 18’ x 42’ with spa. Detailed Mahogany deck surround, cedar pool fence, hidden pool equipment, poured-in-place concrete retaining walls. Final post lighting and perimeter landscaping is under design

Pool faces west with views of lower meadow, mature trees and distant hills.

Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, MA
New Museum Terrace & Universal Access

OL Ltd lead firm for design of the new Museum entrance terrace and universal access solutions for this well visited Museum housing Norman Rockwell’s paintings and original Studio on their 25-acre campus.

Other firms involved included Kelly, Granger, Parsons Inc, Surveyors; SK Design Inc (drainage, structural); Climate Systems (ice-snow melt system and plumbing).

Services completed included recommendations for repairing or replacing the original bluestone terrace that was in poor condition. The approved design enlarged the existing bluestone terrace by 25% and provides universal access routes that blend seamlessly into the visitor experience.
Other services included presentations, grading, drainage, estimates, bidding, etc.
Detailed design of the custom stone paving pattern on AutoCAD shop drawings with Williams Stone.
The new terrace has a new poured concrete subbase with epoxy coated reinforcing rods. An ice and snow heat melt system is built into the top layer of the concrete pour.

This was a fast-moving project with design starting in November 2015. Approved design in January 2016. Working drawings and final estimates and bidding over the winter. Construction started in late March and the work was completed by late June 2016 for the Museum’s annual fund raising gala.

Existing entrance terrace December 2016. Due to frost heaving, lack of drainage pitch (on north side) and use of salt on the bluestone, many pavers were decomposing and created tripping hazards for visitors. Water was leaking into the lower basement below the exterior vestibule.

Construction ground breaking late March 2016.

Excavation and perimeter concrete work formed. Light green is the epoxy coated reinforcing woven rod system being installed over foam insulation panels. Excavation, drainage, concrete, finish grading by Adams Trucking & Excavation.

David Slick, NRM Facilities Manager; Craig Okerstrom-Lang, RLA; Patrick Keating, Job Superintendent for Broadwell Construction and Construction Management.	Carefully laying in “orange colored” heat melt piping over the woven-epoxy-coated reinforcing rods (which are set on risers). Adams Trucking installing along with Climate Systems, Plumbing Contractor.
Detail of the outer edge of the terrace with support haunch formed out, woven RR on lifts, plastic heat-melt system installed.	Almost ready for concrete pour!
Concrete poured; first delivery of custom cut Chester Granite pavers delivered by Williams Stone. Mancini Pool Decks Inc installed all the flat work and seat wall copings.	Installation of pavers in exterior vestibule which has a basement space below it. Complicated detailing to match original Museum walls radii (each face is different).
Custom stone pattern which minimizes the number of joints on the terrace. Note the small rectangular “key stones” which makes this large pattern possible.	Final sweeping of mortar joints by masons. New granite seat wall copings installed onto existing natural Berkshire Fieldstone walls.

AFTER June 2016
New granite terrace (enlarged by 25%), main asphaltic walkway and secondary walkway, all MA AAB accessible. North façade cleaned and painted. All very simple solutions which required very detailed plans and shop drawings and expert construction management and installation.

A New Downtown Hotel

OL Ltd on A/E Project Team led by SK Design Inc and Kate McCormick, Esq, for a new hotel on the grounds of the former Searles High School in downtown Great Barrington, MA. It will be called “The Berkshire”. Perspective renderings by Robert U. Taylor.

Our role was the design of the landscape and lighting for the property. We also were involved in the various public hearings required for the project’s Special Permit with the Town.
We completed included detailed landscape design, plant list, etc. Native plants were used within the 200’ River Zone and along the adjacent River Walk trail which hugs the top of the bank of the Housatonic River.
Rain garden design.
Main entrance from Bridge Street to new hotel’s front door and porch (2 times longer than the Red Lion Inn’s porch in Stockbridge). This is a signature feature of The Berkshire
We completed the site lighting design per the “Night Sky Initiative” bylaw in Town. We echoed the lighting design by our firm for the adjacent Iredale Minerals Corporate Headquarters. All low key, LED, dark bronze aluminum KIM lighting fixtures, using mix of 12’ tall lights and 48” tall bollards.

Existing Searles High School (circa 1898) south elevation, along Bridge Street.

New Front Entrance at Bridge Street Historic former Searles Middle School converted to The Berkshire hotel with new, expansive front porch off the lobby..

Existing north – rear of Building above.
Controversial initial design and approval process with abutters and Historical Commission which morphed into a collaboration that saves the historic Searles Building. The existing Gymnasium and Annex Buildings will be demolished and new structures built and integrated together for the hotel.

North – Rear of hotel with porte cochere entrance, guest and employee parking, pool is to the right-hand side. Iredale Minerals Corporate Headquarters is just west (master plan, landscape, water gardens, lighting designed by OL Ltd).

Approved Landscape Plan (Bridge Street at bottom of plan or south)

My backyard in Great Barrington, MA.

One half acre in-town property; house built in 1849. Landscape totally renovated and changed over the past 26 years with the collaboration of Annie OL!

I love leaf and flower textures and mix them in creative ways; especially small flowering trees and medium and large shrubs.

Mid-June Image with full sun plantings: Kousa Dogwood (planted in 1987) on right, in bloom (mid-June); Elderberry on left just starting to bloom. Rhododendrons blooming in shade along a clipped Hemlock hedge. Oakleaf Hydrangea are the large white blooms way in back.

Bluestone terrace is off the NE corner of the house; screen porch opens out onto terrace.

Hot tub is behind Kousa Dogwood and built into grade. Gurgling water feature is tucked amongst summer display pots under the Kousa.