CLIMATESCAPE: OAKLAND

FINDINGS PRESENTED AT THE AIA EAST BAY SMALL FIRM FORUM, THE CALIFORNIA GREEN SCHOOLS SUMMIT, AND NATIONAL WORKSHOPS ON HOW TO CREATE GARDENS WITHOUT IRRIGATION

Doubling as both an ornamental landscape and a data-generating science experiment, the Oakland Climatescape explores how a landscape can be created within a mediterranean climate that does not require an irrigation system or supplemental watering after the first year. Building off of the work we did on the first Climatescape (installed in Minneapolis), the landscape shows first-hand that irrigation-free does not have to mean desert. The landscape brims with life, color, texture, and form. containing a mix of grasses, perennials, and shrubs native to California and other mediterranean climate zones.

As the landscape is also a science experiment, we have simultaneously generated data on the actual, as opposed to perceived, water needs of plants. These data we have then translated into best practices, including building and site design, for creating landscapes without irrigation, which we have shared through trainings with the AIA East Bay, the California Green Schools Summit, and national workshops on how to create gardens without irrigation.