Monday, March 30, 2009

Landscaping inspiration

The Hotel Modera is a hip new refurbished hotel right around the corner from my office. I found myself making detours to pass by the courtyard during my regular preprandial perambulations, so I figured I should take some photos.

I love the slat fencing and contemporary angularity of the design:



On the right (South) side are tables and chairs separated by concrete planters and benches. Note superfly plant wall and right-angled lines of planting beds:



The grass coming though the void in the pavers adds height and interest to the layout:



I like how the geometry of the pavers (and even the plantings) is broken up by the organic, rough stone. The cement "bench" provides seating and directs flow:



Different plants are arranged with zinc (? the same material as the fire pits and planters, I think) on the plant wall, giving it an unexpected patchwork feel:



The groundcover coming up randomly and the living wall keeps the geometry of the pavers from being boring:



The two sides of the courtyard are separated by wooden decking and a glass pergola, which is great in a climate where most of our sunshine comes in liquid form (and no, I'm not talking about beer):



The North side of the courtyard has outdoor seating arranged around fire pits with ground cover of crushed oyster? Gravel? Not sure:



The fire pits are made out of the same oxidized metal as some of the panels on the plant wall and the gigantor planters:





That's a metric shedload of euphorbia, Itellyouwhut.

We're planning on using this as an inspiration for a dog-friendly backyard transformation this year. Once I overcome my shame, I'll post photos of the current condition of Jake's playground and craporium as a "before".

2 comments:

HutchDeluxe said...

Hotel, good. The zen style works pretty well.

"slatted fencing" looks alright in the courtyard, but irregularly applied vertically to the parking garage mesh? Blech. I don't recommend imitating the sausage sculptures either.

So, those are fire pits? Does fire come out of there? Cooool.

Anonymous said...

Ha! They do look like snausages, don't they?

Yeah, the garage cladding isn't great, but frankly it's a step up from most of the institutional looking hotels downtown.