NOT YOUR AVERAGE RAIN GARDEN: MINNEAPOLIS

PRIVATE CLIENT / PARTIALLY FUNDED BY THE THREE RIVERS PARK DISTRICT

The directive for this project was to create a rain garden that would capture runoff from a newly installed driveway. The design took its inspiration from the crisscrossing flows of water in a river. The said water flows translated into three-dimensional physical zones in the landscape that would contain plants whose water needs correspondeded to how much water each zone would receive during a rainstorm. Horizontal elements were added to break up the curves and to help create discrete planting zones. The overall structure of the landscape can be perceived in early spring, when the plants are cut back to the ground. Gradually, as the plants grow throughout the summer months, the structure's edges become slightly obscured only to be eclipsed by the forms of the plants.