This residential project represents the power of depaving. When we encountered, as we often do, an exterior completely encased in concrete across front, back and side yards, rather than dig up and reconstruct the entire site, we surgically removed portions of the slab to become future planting beds. Depaving not only restricts undo concrete waste, it also permits stormwater infiltration and brings significant cost savings. In the back yard, we continued on the prevailing theme of garden rooms, adding built in wooden seating to the dining area, visually streamlining the wood-fired oven, removing half of an overly-wide set of stairs and installing a corten steel planter, and removing concrete at the base of a basement level stairwell to alleviate some drainage problems. In the front yard, we added garden beds to span both sides of the existing fence, functionally creating a private courtyard and enclosed play space.
Images copyright 2023 Jaime Alvarez
SIZE: 2,500 SF
YEAR: 2023
LOCATION: Northern Liberties, Philadelphia, PA
