Reclaiming a Hillside: Where Function Meets Intention

Nestled midway down a wooded hillside beside an active stream, the Central Overlook project began as a stormwater management challenge. Over multiple phases, the landscape was reshaped to integrate structural plantings, stormwater solutions, and functional outdoor spaces—creating a place that not only performs under extreme conditions, but enhances daily life.

Over three years, the work grew deeper and more nuanced. What began as utility became invitation: a site-responsive landscape designed to be walked, paused in, and returned to—shaped with intention and softened over time.

The work unfolded in three deliberate phases:

• The Overlook Path — establishing access and stabilizing a once-muddy, eroding slope

• Arrival, Replanted — clarifying the home’s threshold through restrained structure and planting

• Rainwood Refuge — transforming a dismissed corner into a rain-fed woodland retreat

This is a landscape that performs quietly—supporting the land while inviting people into it.