DeKalb County, Alabama Site Design + Plant Strategies 2016 - 2018
E-911 facility
2019 Award of Honor in Design ASLA Alabama Chapter
2019 Award of Honor AIA Alabama Chapter
Located among the southernmost extension of the Cumberland Plateau, the Dekalb County E-911 Facility offers critical emergency telecommunication infrastructure to the region. The sixteen-acre property was strategically organized to minimize weekly maintenance while maximizing ecological diversity. The majority of the site’s area was devoted to become a richly-textured meadow, initially seeded with twenty-one species of native grasses and wildflowers. The meadow joins forces with the patchwork of scrappy hedgerows and streambanks to increase the plant diversity within the surrounding monocultures of agricultural fields and pine plantations of the region. Rather than a vast expanse of lawn, the meadow is a biological hotspot and serves as a haven for pollinators and birds. Black-eyed Susan’s, Smooth Asters, and Blanket Flower brandish seasonal hues of oranges and lavenders from early spring through late fall. Left to stand through winter, dried seed heads are showcased against the earthy tones and wispy textures of native grasses. The meadow and straightforward paving materials together establish an industrial simplicity for the facility.
