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Andrea Cochran: Landscapes Mary Myers Foreword by Henry Urbach Princeton Architectural Press New York

Andrea Cochran: Landscapes

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"Studies in repetition and order, orchestrations of movement in the landscape, and elements placed in geometric conversation," is how author Mary Myers describes the twenty-five-year career of San Francisco-based landscape architect Andrea Cochran. Poetic language suits these functional and often lyrical works of art. They are sensuous, captivating oases that absorb the eye in a totality of spatial composition.

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Andrea Cochran: Landscapes

Mary Myers Foreword by Henry Urbach

Princeton Architectural Press

New York

Published by

Princeton Architectural Press

37 East Seventh Street

New York, New York 10003

For a free catalog of books, call 1.800.722.6657.

Visit our website at www.papress.com.

© 2009 Princeton Architectural Press

All rights reserved

Printed and bound in China

11 10 09 08 4 3 2 1 First edition

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without

written permission from the publisher, except in the context of reviews.

Every reasonable attempt has been made to identify owners of

copyright. Errors or omissions will be corrected in subsequent editions.

Editor: Laurie Manfra

Designer: Jan Haux

Special thanks to: Nettie Aljian, Sara Bader, Nicola Bednarek, Janet

Behning, Becca Casbon, Carina Cha, Penny (Yuen Pik) Chu, Russell

Fernandez, Pete Fitzpatrick, Wendy Fuller, Clare Jacobson, Aileen

Kwun, Nancy Eklund Later, Linda Lee, Aaron Lim, John Myers,

Katharine Myers, Lauren Nelson Packard, Jennifer Thompson, Paul

Wagner, Joseph Weston, and Deb Wood of Princeton Architectural

Press —Kevin C. Lippert, publisher

Front cover image by Vicky Sambunaris

Back cover image by Marion Brenner

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Myers, Mary, 1952-

Andrea Cochran : landscapes / by Mary Myers ; foreword by Henry

Urbach. — 1st ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-56898-812-2 (hardcover : alk. paper)

1. Landscape architecture —Unites States. 2. Cochran, Andrea.

I. Cochran, Andrea. II. Title. III. Title: Landscapes.

SB469.33.M94 2009

712.092--dc22

2008040538

CoNTENTS

FoREWoRD

Henry Urbach

INTENTIoNAL LANDSCAPES:

THE DESIgNS oF ANDREA CoCHRAN

Mary Myers

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PRoJECTS

Walden Studios

Brookvale Residence

Children’s garden

Perry Residence

Curran House

Hayes Valley Roof garden

Ward Residence

Portland Art Museum

Ross Residence

Peninsula Residence

Stone Edge Vineyard

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Acknowledgments

Appendix A: Plant Index

Appendix B: Materials Index

Project Credits

Selected Bibliography

Image Credits

Staff Members, 1998–2008

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WALDEN STUDIoS

Location: Alexander Valley, California

Site area: 6 acres

Completion date: 2007

Cochran finds raw beauty in agricultural landscapes where the purposeful arrangement of a few

simple materials conveys a sense of order. Soil, grapevines, and trees are the essential elements

of the Alexander Valley, where Walden Studios is sited. Stone terraces lift the garden above the

floodplain. Conceived as plinths and carved as bas-relief-like planes, the terraces appear to pivot

around the fulcrum of the existing building, formerly a prune packinghouse. The property was

purchased with the intention of creating a studio for artists in residence to develop and display

their work. The terraces include an outdoor dining area, reception space for art openings, and a

bocce ball court.

The experience of pure geometric space is heightened by a reductionist palette: stone,

steel, gravel, lawn, and trees. Shrubs and other middle-height plants are eschewed. Instead,

plinths floating bargelike above the vineyard emphasize the ground plane, while stonewalls

contain carpets of lawn or gravel. Views are generally open and responsive to the external valley-

foothill vista. Carefully placed rubble at the base of the walls appears animated, like breaking

waves. The horizontality of the composition is balanced by the strategic placement of trees. great

gnarled olives, positioned at the corners, anchor the rectangular spaces. Their organic contorted

forms contrast with the terraces’ geometry and the regularity of distant vineyards. A bosque of

pear trees hearkens to the days when the valley was replete with orchards. Their autumn color and

spring blossoms bring a sense of ephemerality and change to an otherwise timeless landscape.

PLANTS

Beschorneria yuccoides

Festuca mairei

Furcraea foetida

Morus alba ‘Fruitless’

Muhlenbergia lindheimeri

Olea europaea ‘Sevillano’

Parthenocissus tricuspidata

Platanus x acerifolia ‘Bloodgood’

Pyrus calleryana ‘Aristocrat’

Pyrus fauriei ‘Korean Sun’

Stipa gigantea

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The landscape and architecture represent a permeable relationship.

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Precisely fitted stone walls create a datum around the project.

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Specimen olives anchor the planar landscape.

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A bocce ball court is elevated above the vineyards.

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Courtyard with gravel rings for wheelchair access

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A reflecting pool creates a seamless plane.

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N

0 50ft.

N

0 50ft.

Plan of Walden Studios

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A Cor-ten ramp is lit from below by narrow slits with hidden LED lights.

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BRooKVALE RESIDENCE

Location: Hillsborough, California

Site area: ¾ acre

Completion date: 2003

In the Brookvale Residence, a series of thoughtfully considered gestures orchestrate movement

through the landscape. The visitor’s journey begins with a sense of disorientation, as the predictable

suburban environs are left behind with the click of the garden door. You meander up an entry path,

through blocks of densely planted horsetail. Tall reedy stems surround you, obscuring views of

the arrival courtyard and front door. Cochran’s intent was to create a mazelike experience, where

you must find, almost feel, your way to the destination, focusing closely on the smooth white

pavement underfoot and brushing against the dark upright plants. Unaware of being led by the

path, you arrive at a small courtyard planted with Japanese maples, the heart of the interior, to

find water bubbling up through a cube of cool limestone. The courtyard’s height and depth are

roughly equal, resulting in a calmly reassuring space, like the rooms of a Palladian villa.

The datum of the house is set by the elevation of the courtyard and extends outward,

encompassing the large pool terrace, which floats approximately twenty inches above grade. By

holding the exterior terrace at this consistent elevation, the viewer is positioned high enough to

see into the distance, eclipsing views of the middle ground and capturing views of the neighboring

golf course.

The design eliminates the need for steps between the front entry, courtyard, and pool

terrace. A gently sloping path and the repetition of limestone pavement inside and outside of the

house result in a seamless integration of interior and exterior. The easy flow allows attention to

focus on the sensory and compositional aspects of the garden. The journey prompts an unusual

sequence of feelings: disorientation, calm, and finally, meditative absorption in the distant

prospect seen from the terrace.

PLANTS

Acer palmatum

Anemone x hybrida

Chimonobambusa quadrangularis

Cyperus papyrus

Equisetum hyemale

Euphorbia amygdaloides ‘Mrs. Robb’s bonnet’

Ginkgo biloba ‘Fairmont’

Hakonechloa macra

Helleborus argutifolius

Juncus patens

Lonicera hildebrandiana

Magnolia x soulangeana

Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light’

Miscanthus transmorrisonensis

Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’

Phormium tenax ‘Atropurpureum’

Phyllostachys nigra

Pleioblastus pygmaea

Quercus agrifolia

Zelkova Serrata

opposite: The pool terrace was designed to preserve the existing oak tree.

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