Mullet Hall – Living Building Challenge – Site Petal
Why does the Mullet Hall Project Team feel that it is appropriate to build on this greenfield site? Human Powered Living The Site is within 2km of a major train station providing access to NYC and other points along the Hudson River. This is within easy walking and/or biking distance, providing current and future owners […]
Pretty Good Home Site
So here it is. Here is where we intend to build a home. As David wrote somewhere on Green Building Advisor (or at Wolfe Island Passive House), the goal here isn’t “payback” as is so often mentioned in reference to “green building” metrics. Having been blessed with the good fortune of having the opportunity to […]
Land Development and Trees
As a self-proclaimed treehugger, it is certainly with some trepidation that I reach my arms around trees in order to tag them for removal. But what I have learned from my partner, the Landscape Architect Erin Muir, is that, if undertaken with care and integrity, the removal of some plants can be justified in order […]
Organic Lawn Care in the Northeast
You are right to be upset about the lawn care chemicals being dumped on the lawns of your community – or anywhere for that matter. the Figure Ground Studio cares deeply about responsible land management and has done a fair amount of research and even public speaking about the importance of organic lawn care. Here […]
Energy Model and Solar Analysis
There are so many factors that go into the design of a home. To name a few, there are: site selection, regulatory constraints, client wishes, budget, material and structural considerations, solar orientation, etc. As we work in-house and with consultants to move towards a final design, it seems like the 3d model of the home, […]
Office Planter Garden and “Gift to the Street”
We’ve created a planter garden and a “gift to the street” here on Main Street in Cold Spring. The installation features the classic Fermob Bistro collection in red, Vietnamese pottery, and a colelction of decorative, edible, and pollinator-friendly plants.
The TFG Studio Summer Planter Garden
The colorful TFG Studio planters for Summer 2016 create a mini garden on Main Street.
PDX Backyard Habitat featured in Green Builder Magazine
The Figure Ground Studio’s PDX Backyard Habitat , located in southwest hills of Portland, Oregon, was recently featured in the March-April 2016 issue of Green Builder magazine. Our very own Erin Muir, who served as Landscape Architect on this job, is quoted extensively about her design in the article, discussing the theory and practice of […]
Narragansett Pool House, Pool, and Landscape Nearing Completion
The modern, neoclassically inspired, collaboratively designed poolhouse, pool, deck, and pool landscape for residence in Narragansett, RI is nearing completion.