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2004 ASLA Professional Awards

Analysis & Planning Award of Merit

Mayo Plan #1-Mayo Woodlands, Rochester Township, MN
Coen + Partners, Inc., Minneapolis, MN
Client: Mayo Woodlands, LLC

A beautiful development. . . Very sensitive to the land and its history of use. . . Wonderful, fresh style of representation for planning and analysis. . .
2004 Professional Awards Jury Comments

Mayo Woodlands is a new residential community along the Zumbrota River on a 220-acre parcel of farmland, meadows, and rolling woodlands encroached by the pressures of traditional suburban residential development. The Mayo Family hired the landscape architect to develop a site and landscape strategy that would elevate this residential development to a national model for innovative residential planning. It should be noted that the landscape architect developed a strong collaborative partnership with both the client and the architecture team. This relationship, and its inherent trust, has been instrumental in the design evolution of Mayo Woodlands.

A monumental oak tree to be preserved within Field #1. (Photo: Kathleen Day Coen )

Pre-development land categories including active agricultural, prairie, and woods with prairie pot-holes. (Graphic: coen + partners)

The original approved plan developed by engineers; a typical American subdivision with little reference to context. (Graphic: coen + partners)

The landscape divides itself naturally into three zones: Field #1-agriculture, Field #2-prairie, and the Woods. (Graphic: coen + partners)

The first landscape intervention is to plant the entire site in a native tall grass prairie to erase non-contextual lot lines. (Graphic: coen + partners)

The second intervention creates orthogonal "cutouts" within the prairie for residences; deemphasizing the cul-de-sacs. (Graphic: coen + partners)

The third intervention inserts East/West windbreaks of red pine trees recalling iconic windbreaks of rural America. (Graphic: coen + partners)

The fourth intervention inserts low East/West fences and walls marking pedestrian paths connecting neighbors. (Graphic: coen + partners)

As another layer of identity, the houses graduate in color from a bone-white to grey and black as they reach to the river. (Graphic: coen + partners)

Before and After plan for Field #1. The East/West orientation of homes and vegetation introduce a vocabulary for the neighborhood that is consistent with its agricultural roots. (Graphic: coen + partners)

Before and After plan for the Woods. The footprint of the homes and the yards is reduced, so the homes are inserted into the forest quietly, rather than removing the woods to insert manicured turf. (Graphic: coen + partners)

Before and After plan for Field #2. Linear lawns link north and south forest edges both visually and physically. (Graphic: coen + partners)

Lot Plan and Perspective for Field #1. The East/West architecture maximizes natural light in the home. (Graphic: coen + partners)

Lot Plan and Perspective for the Woods. The house sits within a fern-planted circle. The structure footprint is minimized to preserve the maximum amount of deciduous hardwood forest. (Graphic: coen + partners)

Lot Plan and Perspective for Field #2. The architecture develops interior and exterior spaces through a series of cubic volumes establishing public and private realm hierarchy. (Graphic: coen + partners)

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