Cane Island is a new residential community in Katy, Tex., that features forward-thinking green architecture both indoors and out.
This master-planned community of 1,100 acres features LED-embedded floral archways and planters set in bollards that light up in different colors along the main access road, said Luis Andrade, an account manager for Ewing.
“It’s a different concept,” said Andrade. “Not just green design, but also modular so it can be changed every year.”
Ewing supplied the irrigation products for the bollards, which were installed by Shooter & Lindsey, a commercial landscaping contractor.
“This was not something we had seen before in Houston, and it was exciting to see something new come here,” said Brian Schmitt, president of Shooter & Lindsey.
Green design with a seasonal theme
Construction of the bollards began in February 2015, and the first planting was over the summer. Shooter & Lindsey took delivery of the planters and grew the flowers at their offices while the bollards were under construction.
“We built a rack here, and had the flowers facing the same directions they would at Cane Island, so we had some facing east and some west,” said Schmitt.
“We are growing more flowers, so the bollards will always have a seasonal look,” he said. “We can change out the colors and never miss a beat, and the bollards will always have color no matter the season.”
The flowers are watered by drip irrigation tubing that was installed inside the top edge of the planters. The drip system runs in three zones, with the heaviest watering at the top, and the bottom zone receiving the runoff from the other levels. Vines growing across the 4x4 screens inside the bollards help to conceal the system’s working parts.
“The bollards are 15 feet tall, and each one has a microvalve that we can turn on or off for specific planters if need be,” Schmitt said.
Landscape lighting is another aesthetic feature of the bollards: “We have LED lighting that shoots up through the middle of the bollards, and it’s a cool sight at nighttime,” Schmitt said.
Cane Island’s outdoor amenities—including the streetscapes, pocket parks, patios and pools—were designed by AndersonBaron, a full-service planning and landscape architecture firm with offices in Arizona, Nevada, and Texas. AndersonBaron worked with developer Rise Communities at Cane Island, according to associate Brian Rogers, RLA.
Cane Island’s two-sided living wall
Green living designs appear indoors at Cane Island, as well.
Inside the glass-walled conservatory at the community clubhouse, a living wall stands 16 by 18 feet, raised three feet from the ground for an overall height of 21 feet, said Rogers.
This wall features the VGP living wall system from Tournesol Siteworks. Emitters deliver water to the plants inside trays made of recycled polypropylene. These trays drain overflow from a sub-irrigation reservoir, so the pots will cascade drain to a central point, according to Andrade.
AndersonBaron had a one-inch reduced pressure zone backflow prevention device installed to help maintain water levels, Rogers said: “We didn’t want any pressure issues when water goes up and down the pipe, as the wall is 21 feet up.”
This two-sided wall features about 7,500 plants in containers holding six plants each.
“We wanted an annual, something that would do well in a container application and also flower heavily,” Rogers said, “so we went with Dianthus for the entire wall.”
A fertilizer injector with a tank that works off a valve feeds nutrients to the thousands of flowers on the two sides of the wall.
“Something of this scale, and being two sided, is a unique factor,” Rogers said. “You get a big show when you drive pass the conservatory, and it’s an elegant backdrop when you are inside it. It’s green and pretty, and makes for an interesting conversation piece.”
The efforts to design the wall and prepare for its installation were—like the wall itself—a big thing.
“There is a science to living wall management,” Andrade said. “With living walls, you are putting plants in an area that is not their natural habitat, and keeping those plants and roots healthy can be difficult.”
“We worked extensively with a structural engineer to make sure soil loads and general water weight were all calculated into the end design,” Rogers said.
“Working through the measurements and all the details of the wall itself early on in our office made the install that much easier,” he said.
A green future at Cane Island
Constructing the living wall took about two weeks. Today, AndersonBaron has installation maintenance responsibilities for the living wall, but only for a three-month period. After that, an HOA management company will assume regular maintenance.
“The wall was completed at Cane Island’s grand opening in March,” Rogers said. “We are on phase one of a six-phase project. It will be a few more years before the project is fully complete.”
Cane Island broke ground in the fall of 2014. The first home models were open by June of 2015, and residents began arriving in late 2015. This master-planned community will have 2,200 homes by 2020.
To learn more about building green walls with the Tournesol VGM Modular Living Wall or Tournesol VGP Tray Living Wall, watch this video and visit your local Ewing store.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3wDWtD-Kb8[/embed]