April eNewsletter

Below the Surface: The Hidden Functionality of Amenity Lakes

BY CHRIS LALICH

They say everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame. Mine came this month when I was interviewed by our local PBS station, KLRU, for their Decibel program. This particular segment focused on Austin’s Water Pressures, and for my part we focused on how stormwater is handled at Mueller through a series of water quality ponds.

On the Boards: 3E Park at The Woodlands Hills

BY JARKA PHARIS

RVi is in the midst of working on one of the first neighborhood parks within the newest master planned community being developed by The Howard Hughes Corporation and its subsidiary, The Woodlands Development Company – The Woodlands Hills.  The 2,000-acre community, located thirteen miles north of The Woodlands, will feature open spaces with rolling terrain and abundant areas of preserved trees and native vegetation typical in the piney woods.

Homestead Park at Headwaters Earns ASLA Honor Award

“Powerful demonstration of a restrained approach to design. Jury members were fascinated by the project and found the process remarkable. Simplicity at its finest. The landscape architect’s understanding and respect for the architecture was beautiful.” 
– 2019 ASLA Awards Jury

On the heels of several regional and national awards for the community overall, this month Headwaters earned a Texas ASLA Honor Award for the design of its cornerstone amenity – Homestead Park.

Homestead Park was designed to create a natural open space area suitable for passive recreation, while honoring and preserving Hazy Hills Manor, the original 1940 ranch house built on the site. Standing at the top of a hill, the house had fallen into disrepair and was not suitable for renovation or public use. In an effort to preserve the structure and engage the new community in the historical family legacy, the RVi design team partnered with developer Freehold Communities to carefully deconstruct the house down to the structurally significant base foundation. The foundation serves as a cornerstone of the park, around which RVi designed a garden of all native grasses, plants, and wildflowers. A crushed granite trail meanders through the ranch house garden and connects to other amenity areas within Homestead Park, encouraging exploration and enjoyment of the outdoors.

Located in Dripping Springs at the confluence of Big Barton and Little Barton Creeks, the Headwaters Community holds a rich history as a 1,300+ acre family ranch that served as home to the Townes and Pressler families for generations. Homestead Park serves as a peaceful retreat in the center of the community, giving residents the opportunity to understand and appreciate the heritage of the land that they now call home.

In Other News

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