卵石露台的制作

室内设计师 安东尼Catalfano他曾与小厄尼·博奇(Ernie Boch, Jr .)合作. on his home and on the many structures throughout his property, 这是Boch庄园的场地, “这是你见过的最美丽的花园. [The Pebble Terrace] is made of black and white stones that make a pattern,” he continues. “它美得不可思议.” 

Comprised of contrasting Mexican beach stones, the Pebble Terrace is undoubtedly the jewel of an expansive and picturesque landscape designed as a series of outdoor rooms by landscape architect Brian Frazier of 布莱恩·弗雷泽设计. The singular yet intimate space is directly on axis with Boch’s Garden Pavilion, 它是由 Eric Inman Daum建筑事务所 由 现有的建筑, and fringed with layers of taxus, hydrangea, Russian sage and boxwood. 

项目经理克里斯·约翰逊 R.P. Marzilli & 公司, the landscape contractor that handcrafted the Pebble Terrace, shares that he “has never done anything so intricate or custom on a flat terrace like this—personally or professionally.他对弗雷泽的设计表示赞赏, and takes us behind the scenes to see what it took to bring the one-of-a-kind terrace to life.

这个过程

第一步是挖掘遗址, 这很关键, 约翰逊说, 因为找不到任何基础. 诺伍德工程和沃尔什建筑公司, 工地承建商, 帮助移走泥土, which allowed the pebble terrace and stair to be built on a central axis. “The terrace was excavated to a depth of five or six feet,约翰逊说。; a 12-inch concrete slab was poured six feet deep to bring it up to 5 feet.”

Prior to foundations for the garden pavilion and pebble terrace, a series of drainage and sewerage line for the garden pavilion were run directly below the pebble terrace. 这项工作的挖掘意义重大. The team had serious concerns about settling. Walsh completed this work and compacted the backfill in lifts to ensure no settling would occur. This work went through the "lower lawn" and R.P. Marzilli & Co. 在感恩节前夕.

After four-foot vertical forms were installed, the shape of the pebble terrace started to come together. 茎壁加固了, 用顶部的厚板填充和顶部的, outfitted with a snow melt system within the concrete, to ensure the terrace won’t accumulate snow. 

R.P. Marzilli’s team determined that the best way to approach the design was to work outward from an interior starting point, 在连锁反应中. 南岸木业 cut forms from AutoCad templates to allow the craftsmen “to stay on the central axis and keep everything absolutely perfect,约翰逊说。. Not only did the terrace have to be centered, the stones needed to radiate following the geometry of the design.

The Mexican beach pebbles themselves also required attention, and arrived in one-ton sacks that needed to be sorted. Each stone was measured for length and width and arranged by color and size. Certain curves required stones of similar widths. “You can see how some of the pebbles are thinner and some are thicker,约翰逊说。. “这一切都是有意为之.”

A team of 5 to 6 men—a controlled group—was assembled to embed the stones. They worked on their hands and knees for three months during the winter of 2015-2016 (under heated tents) to guide each pebble into place. Johnson applauds the crew’s perseverance and level of craftsmanship. “They took their time, understanding and valuing the end goal,” he says. “It’s physically and mentally exhausting, and they didn't accept anything other than perfection.”

用于灌浆, the team went though multiple mockups using different grouts and mortars until they landed on the product they wanted. The depth of the mortar on each stone influenced the final look. The “jointing was critical in making the terrace come together,约翰逊强调说。, 队伍走得很慢, 一节一节地, 最后的点睛之笔. 

Pictured left to right: Project Manager Chris Johnson; 景观 Architect Brian Frazier; President Bob Marzilli; Master Stone Mason and Field Supervisor John Dias; and Ernie Boch, Jr.

At the project’s completion, the team gathered as if for a ribbon cutting as Ernie Boch, Jr. pressed a medallion etched with the date, his name, 布莱恩·弗雷泽设计 and R.P. Marzilli & Co. 变成新鲜的混凝土. R.P. Marzilli & 公司 was honored that Boch had their name emblazoned, 这更有意义, 约翰逊说, when Boch shook the hands of everyone on the design team and offered a heartfelt thank-you for their hard work. 

Top two photographs by Warren Patterson Photography; all others are courtesy of R.P. Marzilli & 公司