Finished residential terrace, stone walls and landscape by Apel Design

Design-Build · Site Design

Landscape and hardscape shaped as part of the architecture.

Terraces, paths, walls, pools, outdoor rooms, materials, lighting and planting relationships composed as one site experience.

Professional credentialsCreative direction with accountable professional delivery.

Architecture + designApel Design, working in conjunction with Michael B. Maclaren, AIA.

Licensed residential constructionCreative New Dimension Inc

California General Building Contractor · Class B · CSLB #1056632

The idea

The ground is not what remains after the building is placed.

Arrival, grade, paving, walls, planting, drainage and outdoor rooms determine how a property is understood and used. They establish the first impression before the front door and the last view from within the house.

Apel Design brings those relationships into the architectural composition, coordinating grading, drainage, structure and specialty requirements with the appropriate licensed professionals.

Knowledge + experience

A site organized as one continuous place.

Architecture, ground and garden are considered together from the first site study onward.

Arrival + movement

Drives, walks, gates, entries, stairs, ramps, service access and the sequence toward the building.

Terraces + outdoor rooms

Dining, gathering, courtyards, decks, shade and transitions between inside and outside.

Walls + levels

Retaining relationships, seat walls, edges, steps and changes in grade coordinated with engineering.

Planting relationships

Canopy, privacy, color, texture, water awareness and the visual relationship between planting and architecture.

Drainage + utilities

Surface flow, collection points, grading, lighting, irrigation and site systems coordinated with specialists.

Material + craft

Paving patterns, joints, stone, concrete, metal, wood and exterior details that carry the architectural language outdoors.

Selected work

Architecture meets the land in the details.

Paths, courtyards, terraces, walls, planting and light make the entire property feel considered.

Residential entry shaped by walls, paving and planting

Terraces, steps and planting integrated with the architecture

Outdoor rooms organized through landscape and hardscape

Arrival court, walls and landscape at dusk

Terraced landscape and residence on a sloping site

Architectural hardscape with integrated exterior lighting

Garden path and outdoor circulation aligned with the building

Outdoor terrace with landscape, shade and material coordination

Coastal terrace and hardscape organized around the view

Courtyard landscape and hardscape extending the interior

Residential site design connecting architecture and garden

The path

Read the land. Then make every move belong.

Observe

Understand approach, topography, views, drainage, privacy, circulation and existing site character.

Organize

Set levels, paths, outdoor rooms, walls, material fields and planting relationships.

Coordinate

Work with civil, structural, landscape, lighting and specialty professionals as the scope requires.

Resolve

Develop details, selections, interfaces and field decisions so the site reads as part of the architecture.

Questions

Useful clarity before the first conversation.

How is the landscape work coordinated?

We describe this work as landscape and hardscape design coordination. We compose site, planting relationships and exterior spaces with the architecture, and coordinate regulated or specialty services with the appropriate licensed professionals.

Can this be part of a pool or remodel project?

Yes. Landscape and hardscape are often most effective when developed with a pool, addition, renovation or new home.

Do you address drainage and grading?

Site intent is coordinated with the appropriate civil, structural and other licensed professionals so drainage, grading and construction requirements support the design.

Landscape and hardscape