Designing Your Place in Nature
By David Groshens
Fisher & Associates, Billings Montana
Last fall l was invited to hunt on a property in the mountains of southern
Montana. The ranch headquarters were several miles off the pavement, up a
narrow valley lined with yellowing aspen and towering ponderosa pine. Arriving
at the ranch headquarters, I was startled by the simplicity, timelessness,
and beauty of the site.
Generous and efficient in layout and construction, corrals and horse pasture
introduced the property. Next in view were barns built into the hillside and
made of local stone--barns both handsome and functional. A fenced, irrigated
lawn and large willows punctuated a low-slung main log home and two sod-roofed
lesser log residences. All three log buildings overlooked a pond shared by
resident and northern mallards, largemouth bass and snapping turtles.
The scene formed a unified vision, tied to and complementing the natural setting.
All man-made aspects of the setting--from road to pond to residences--appeared
to belong as naturally as the natural landscape.
What makes site development like this so long lasting and attractive? You
know it when you see it, and you know when it's lacking. But creating it is
another matter.
Fortunately, attention to three common themes can help you get there. First,
successful properties are planned.
Second, all human interventions take advantage of--but do not attempt to change--the
natural surroundings. And, third, all manmade enhancements work with nature,
not against it.
Used in this context, nature means all natural elements of the land--physical
and otherwiseincluding terrain, temperature, wind, water, vegetation and wildlife.
In a master plan, one must consider access, and accessibility, water supply,
utilities and infrastructure, views and vistas, microclimate, structures (e.g.,
homes, barns, fences), and animal life. It is sensitive and creative thought
and action in each of these areas that can best ensure success and coherence
in site planning.
ACCESS AND ACCESSEBILITY
Roads and driveways should be sited so as to minimize visual impacts and maintenance.
For visual appeal, retain natural features (such as vegetation) around pathways,
and take care not to let pathways visually complicate or dominate the site.
In most cases, avoid straight lines; they are generally not found in nature
and won't look natural. Also, take advantage of wind to site paths where they
will blow clear of snow, avoiding areas of heavy drifting. Improper access
development can cut up pasture and crop land to the detriment of both visual
appeal and function, and can lead to weed problems, flooding, and costly,
time-consuming maintenance.
WATER SUPPLY
Groundwater and surface water on a property present both opportunities and
challenges. Water resources (including creeks, rivers, ponds and marshes)
should be integrated with great care into a site plan, preserving both water
quality and quantity for agricultural, domestic, recreational and animal use.
The careful use and preservation of water is central to sustainable development
in the arid western landscape.
If natural water resources are part of the view, locate structures far enough
away to protect them from flooding and to protect water quality and the appearance
of the resource. To minimize silting and maintenance, maintain a buffer of
natural vegetation between ornamental landscapes and the water's edge. Also,
water resources can be improved to restore or enhance fish habitat in streams
and ponds and waterfowl habitat in wetlands.
UTILITIES/INFRATRUCTURE
The best site plans provide for efficient, cost effective and accessible routes
for power, phone lines and other utilities. To minimize the visual impacts
of utilities, place them along roadways (if above ground) or under roadways
in an underground utility corridor. Such co-placement will also consolidate
construction disturbances and activity. Where above- ground placement is necessary,
provide visual screening with natural or new plantings, and avoid skylining
or profiling.
The goal is to blend utilities with the site background, avoiding placement
where they become a prominent landscape element or dominant first impression.
To succeed in this goal, meet on-site with utility companies early in site
planning, find win-win solutions for attractive, least cost utility service--decisions
made with a full understanding of overall site plans and both utility and
owner concerns.
VIEWS AND VISTAS
In development terms, a view is the complete scene within a person's range
of vision. The view from a mountain cabin, for example, might be general scenes--tall
pines, snow-capped peaks and sky. A vista, on the other hand, is a specific
scene with a strong frame seen from a particular vantage point along or through
an avenue or opening. Vistas from the same mountain cabin might range from
a mountain meadow (looking west from the cabin) to a talus slope (looking
north). Views tend to be constant (though multidimensional), whereas vistas
change with the location or orientation of the viewer. Details of the scenery
are more prominent in vistas.
Views--unfairly so--tend to get most of the attention in site planning. And
view obsession leads frequently to site errors. When capturing a view, take
care not to do so at the expense of the natural landscape. Siting a house
on a property's highest ridge for maximum view might bring short term satisfactions
for the owner, while damaging the wild appearance of an entire viewshed for
neighbors and others.
Ridge-top housing can be unwise for purely selfish reasons, too, creating
discomfort due to microclimate extremes (wind and cold) and involve high costs
for site development, construction and property maintenance.
For residential development in particular, subtle views and vistas can be
more satisfying, enduring, and secure than the dramatic panorama. On almost
all properties, regardless of type of use, you'll likely spend more time looking
around you (at multiple vistas) than always taking in the larger view. If
vistas are man-made or otherwise altered from their natural state, select
appropriate vegetation that can be easily managed and maintained.
Finally, in planning both views and vistas, recognize that scenery can change.
Subsequent activity on neighboring properties can enhance or damage significantly
what you see. To protect what you see for the long haul, start early to build
relationships with neighbors and other parties whose planning decisions might
affect yours. Views, in particular, are communal resources; communal effort
is required to maintain them.
MICROCLIMATE
Microclimate refers to wind, rainfall, snowfall and temperature on a specific
site or part of a site. Affected by such factors as land slope, exposure and
shelter (e.g., trees, cliffs) , it is highly localized and can change considerably
over small distances. Any given piece of land has a general climate in common
with surrounding lands, but can have multiple microclimates that are milder
or more severe than the general climate.
Site improvements should use the microclimate to best advantage, with structures
situated to benefit from winter sunlight and southern exposures, roadways
sighted where wind will remove snow, and gardens and water lines situated
where they will be protected by deep snow. Locate buildings and plantings
so as to create sheltered, energy - conserving spaces for both people and
domestic animals. For example, conifers planted on the windward side of outdoor
spaces will provide shelter, slow winds and catch snowcreating a still-air
zone downwind. If altering the natural landscape, consider how such changes
will affect microclimate: the loss of a few trees, for example, can make a
substantial difference in wind and snow patterns.
STRUCTURES
What makes a particular structure (e.g., residence, corral, fencing, barn
) work or not work on a particular site? In each case, success or failure
is due to the ability of the structure to fit the immediate setting--and enhance
that setting--in terms of location, scale, color, function, composition, (shape,
line, form, architectural detailing), materials, durability and placement
relative to other structures and site features.
Under the theory of site conservation, owners are advised to preserve or conserve
the most desirable parts of a property by building structures on the least
desirable and most disturbed parts, thus preserving desirable vistas and concentrating
construction and disturbances into smaller areas. Often, a structure (usually
a residence) built on a site's most beautiful plot destroys part of the very
beauty it seeks to capture.
In choosing building materials, consider how well materials will age, withstand
the weather, and resist fire. In most cases, for durability and appearance,
natural exterior building materials, (e.g., stone, wood) weather best and
improve with age. Exterior materials in bright colors typically fade. At higher
elevations, where the climate and microclimate can be severe, improper materials
selection can be costly.
To prevent significant fire damage or total property loss in fire-prone locations,
choose fire-resistant construction materials, and manage the vegetation around
structures. For guidance in this areaincluding recommendations for sizing
and locating fire breaks, selecting building materials, and minimizing fire
prone microclimatesrefer to the Montana Department of State Lands publication
"Guidelines for Urban/Wildlands Interface".
Where seismic activity is a factor, also take care that major structures (particularly
those housing people and animals) are designed for seismic resistance to prevent
serious injury or loss of life.
ANIMAL RESOURCES
In most cases, both domestic and wild animals can enhance a rural property
if properly managed. Domestic animals--and to a lesser degree, wild animals--can
be a primary tool for managing grasses and of plant material, for example,
animals contribute to the succession of desirable plant communities.
In siting structures to protect or house domestic animals, one can use nature
to advantage in two ways: to provide natural protection, and to attract wild
animals for human viewing. In the first case, the lesson is to construct domestic
animal shelter to take advantage of natural shelter, shade and water sources.
In the second case, the lesson is to tap visually the symbiotic relationships
that often develop between wild and domestic animals and man-made features.
For example, site a haystack--a gathering place for pheasants --where you
can see it from the house.
Create a vista out of your feeding area for cattle, where turkey and deer
will tend to visit. Man-made enhancements--such as trees or ponds-can also
be added to a property to create habitat for pheasants, turkeys, songbirds,
deer and other wild animals.
From animal life to microclimate, the elements of nature are factors in the
success of any master site plan. The master plan must, in every detail, consider
not only the intended use of a property and available financial resources,
but also how nature can be enhanced and will enhance or affect site plans.
Don't work against nature. Nature will win every time.
