- Stuart J. Sperber Memorial Sweepstakes Award
- Best Of Show.
- Jensen Landscape & Construction Co.
- Project Name: Reedy Residence
- Award Sponsor: Valley Crest Tree Company
From the May-June 2010 issue of California Landscaping magazine:
Who won: Jensen Landscape & Construction Company, one of four subsidiaries of Jensen Corporate Holdings, which is headquartered in San Jose and 100-percent owned by its 380 employees.
For what project? Landscaping of one-acre site surrounding a French country-style private residence in the wine region of Pleasanton.
Who’s who at Jensen Landscape & Construction Company? Rodney Whitacre-Morimoto is vice president; Doug Hill and Jake Cacciato are senior superintendents
Who’s who on this project? Doug Hill was senior superintendent, Natalie Leguillon was project manager, Phil Villanueva was assistant superintendent, and Mateo Gaitan was project foreman.
What is Jensen Landscape & Construction Company known for? “We are primarily known for our custom residential landscape construction,” says Doug Hill. “We do just about all aspects of site work, including pools, and small buildings such as pool houses.”
What was your scope of work on this project? Work included site preparation, utilities, grading, excavation, drainage, soil preparation, pool and water-feature structure, concrete work, masonry, stone work, planting and large tree placement. In addition Jensen installed irrigation, lighting, solar panels, outdoor speakers, fountains, a bocce ball court and putting green. Jensen’s maintenance division maintains the site.
What was the installation budget? $2 million.
How long did the project take to complete? About two years.
What were the clients’ main goals? “To recreate a tropical resort in their backyard,” Hill says. “They have a home in Hawaii and wanted to replicate that feel.”
Who was the landscape architect? Mark Schatz of Insite in Berkeley provided initial vision for the project, Hill says, explaining that Mark passed away about halfway through the project, and his wife, Cris Schatz, took over. Jeanne Lau was Insite’s day-to-day landscape architect.
What are some of the project’s major features? A 100,000-gallon pool and an artificial rock structure that features five waterfalls. “The structure is highly engineered and simulates boulders and a natural rock formation,” Hill says. The waterfalls surround a swim-in grotto about 15 feet across. “The waterfalls spill into the grotto, so when you swim in, you are surrounded by falling water. It’s the deep section of the pool, about 10 feet deep, and you can jump into the grotto from the rocks.” A pavilion, which was being constructed concurrently by another contractor, is also a focal point.
Anything else? “Both the pool and the pavilion really get your attention,” Hill says.
What about the front yard? “We did a major renovation in the front. We redid the irrigation system and augmented the plantings to follow the style of the backyard more closely.”
What kinds of plantings did you install on the site? “There are 11 big Phoenix Canariensis palms, which created instant shade, two to three dozen smaller palms, lots of bedding plants and perennial flowering plants … We also used big, bold plants, like ginger and tropical vines, along with some bamboo and succulents,” Hill says. About 60 handmade stone vessels imported from Bali had to be cored and drilled before planting.
Any challenges? Construction took place in a relatively small space, and in addition to the logistics, the infrastructure and underground work created challenges, Hill says. “We actually had to construct a road to get in from an adjoining property because we couldn’t get huge pieces of equipment in through the gate.”
Anything else? “The juxtaposition of the style of the house to the style of the rear yard presented a huge problem for the architects and the owners. In the end, because of superior products and finishes, the mix of styles worked.” Hill notes that giving the owners a natural-looking pool in which they could also swim laps was also challenging. “This was achieved by constructing an exacting lane area that is unnoticeable to the casual viewer,” he says. “The lane markers are invisible from above.”
Did you learn anything on this job that would be of help to your fellow landscapers? “The team approach was very much in effect here,” Hill says. “Close coordination of the owners, designers, building architect, and trades was key. While one cannot always choose the team, in this case everyone worked very well together and the end result shows. We had weekly conference calls for team members for several months before the project even broke ground. Those were very useful.”
