K O N T E R R A T O W N C E N T E R E A S T L a n d s c a p e A r c h i t e c t u r e

Prince George County, Maryland

488-acre Concept & Landscape Standards132-acre Schematic Design

January 2008

TBD

David Berkson, Monica Simpson, Koichiro MagamatsuAmy Oliver, Maki Uchida, Goran Kosanovic

Conceptual Landscape Plan & StandardsSchematic Design

Altoon+Porter Architects, LLCRSM Graphics

location

Forest City Washington

client

other consultants

scope of work

date completion

swa team

project size

date begun

The Landscape Framework Plan describes the major landscape components and significant planting designs for Konterra Town Center East. The design of the Landscape Framework Plan is inspired by the area’s history as a mill town and illustrates the weaving of the landscape tapestry that is the heritage of the region’s impressive cultural past.

The planting palette for Konterra Town Center East was chosen to establish a strong, memorable land-scape complementing the region’s existing plant inventories, streetscapes and planting themes. The Land-scape Framework Plan creates a refuge of nature for an enclave serving as a premier gateway of Prince George County. Konterra Town Center East is destined to becomethe area’s new growth center due to its ideal location within the Baltimore Washington Corridor.

The Landscape Framework Plan, in concept with the architectural master plan for Konterra Town Center East, shall deliver a unique aesthetic within the City of Laurel, Maryland. Konterra Town Center East, part of a larger 132-acre planned community, shall contain mixed-use, residential and retail uses and represents the symbolic and actual heart of this gateway community.

KONTERRA TOWN CENTER EAST

project description

K O N T E R R A T O W N C E N T E R E A S T L a n d s c a p e A r c h i t e c t u r e

LANDSCAPE FRAMEWORK

The 488-acre Konterra Town Center East site is bordered on all four sides by highways. The I-95 to the west, the Contee Road inter-change to the north, Virginia Manor Road to the east, and a proposed inter county con-nector to the south.

The core 130-acre Town Center site shall consist of a mix of uses woven together by roadways designed on a grid system that follows natural drainage patterns and the topography of the site. The grid system shall facilitate comfortable access in and out of the site and create a cohesive pedestrian environment. The environs,358-acres surrounding the core area shall consist of commercial office, research and development, residential and open space.The rectilinear grid of the site plan provides the Landscape Framework Plan with flexible building blocks averaging 600 feet by 500 feet, reinforc-ing the alignment of the greater precincts of Konterra Town Center East running from the northeast to the southwest.

The main street concept allows for a mix of uses and a diversity of spaces within the urban plan, including open-air plazas and outdoor restaurants and

parks. The landscape is intended to provide a community amenity supporting the town center’s architectural design.

The Landscape Framework Plan describes the landscape concepts and general planting designs for Konterra Town Center East. Plant materials were selected

based on the landscape heritage of the region and existing inventories within Prince George County. The 358-acre environs landscape envelopes an enclave

of mixed-use commercial office, research and development, residential and open space. The proposed perimeter development has an out ward orienta-tion that is both physically and visually integrated with the existing adjacent

development and community improvements. As such, the environs landscape su ports and addresses the need for coordinated access, exposure and view

sheds into project. As the development of Konterra Town Center East matures, views of significant buildings and landmarks will be promoted and preserved

from the highways.

K O N T E R R A T O W N C E N T E R E A S T L a n d s c a p e A r c h i t e c t u r e

PROPOSED TREE CONCEPT

The scale of development shall transition to the north, east and south, through the phased development plan, to meet the surrounding uses along the roads encircling the site. From the core these buildings shall command views of the surrounding countryside. The Landscape Framework Plan responds to these anticipated conditions by providing a choreography of evergreenand deciduous plant materials to compose the landscape. The streetscape consists of a series of hierarchical layers designed to comple-ment the unique character of each street based on the architectural plan and to enhance the pedestrian experience. Planting is used for shade, color, rhythm, skyline vistas to frame distant view sheds from outside and inside the community, understory planting for pedestrian scaling and compatibility with the architectural character. Individual garden areas on grade and on structure within the Konterra Town Center East shall ad-dress special themes based on the region’s landscape heritage.The different tree and ground plane species create a hierarchy on the project scale and variety at the human scale where trees are used as both landmarks and focal points. In the core of the project the plant material shall be used to identify particular zones and linked open spaces along the streets. Four landscape typologies are identified in the Framework Plan: 1) Perimeter Landscapes, 2) Streetscapes, 3) Core Plazas, Courts and Gardens and 4) Core Parking Lots and Interior Courts.