design studio
HG’s foundation is in creative problem solvers that employ a collaborative crossdiscipline approach to ensure strong solutions for our clients. In our decades of design in Virginia, we have amassed a vast portfolio of work in all sectors, including healthcare, academic projects, residential, municipal, and private and public development.
design studio
David C. Gerstenmaier, President / Director of Design For over 30 years, Dave has accumulated an extensive and award-winning portfolio in landscape architectural design and land planning in Virginia. He started his own firm in 1991, and built a reputation for effective project delivery balancing cost, time, and quality design. In 2000, he took the helm of H&G Landscape Architects in Richmond and catapulted the firm into the preeminent landscape architectural and land planning firm in the region. Clients appreciate Dave's passion and responsiveness resulting from the small-size firm mindset, but creative ingenuity usually characteristic of a metropolitan practice that has distinguished the firm’s work.
Through Dave's creative land planning, and design of the courtyards and grounds at Bon Secours St. Francis Medical Center, the campus was designated "America's Most Beautiful Hospital" in 2011.
Corporate Campus Headquarters HG worked with the client to renovate the exteriors of two buildings and an adjacent parking deck. Our contributions to the design included the entry plaza with complex fountain design; pedestrian crosswalks connecting the buildings with the parking deck; a suspended bridge entry to one building; and an attractive, sustainable, native plant plan to tie the campus into the surrounding natural area. The design of this office building was recently awarded four Green Globes by the Green Building Initiative, a designation reserved for select building designs which serve as national or world leaders in energy and environmental performance and projects which introduce design practices that can be adopted and implemented by others.
LOCATION Richmond, VA CLIENT New Market Corporation ARCHITECT MSTSD CONSTRUCTION COST $30 M DATES Start: 2000 Completion: 2006 DISCIPLINES Landscape Architecture TEAM David Gerstenmaier, PLA
MeadWestVaco Headquarters (now West Rock) As one of only three buildings in the United States to receive the highest Green Globes rating of four globes from the Green Building Initiative, the MeadWestVaco headquarters building at Foundry Park reflects the company’s commitment to sustainability. The project includes sustainable landscape strategies such as intensive and extensive vegetative roofs, drip irrigation, native plants, and light colored paving. The design team was faced with the challenge of creating an entrance plaza on top of the underground parking structure. The solution was to reduce the amount of hardscape by introducing intensive and semi intensive vegetative roof gardens. These roof gardens continue onto the roof terrace where an extensive vegetative roof is the foreground for panoramic views of the James River. The building sits on a site that slopes more than thirty feet towards the river. The landscape architects worked closely with the architect to create parallel stairs inside and outside the building that lead from the lobby level to the cafeteria and dining terrace and then down to the fitness center at street level. The dining terrace is terraced into the hillside with stone walls that are partially constructed of stone that was salvaged from the site. The curved edges are in contrast to the straight lines of the building and are a reminder of the Kanawha canal which used to cross a portion of the site. The hillside is planted with a mix of native plants including Switchgrass, River Birch, Sycamores, Serviceberry and Dogwood.
LOCATION Powhatan County, VA
Pie Tech Corporate Campus
OWNER PIE Tech
HG has enjoyed helping this corporate client create a campus that matches the character of this software firm. They wanted their grounds to have a fun, whimsical atmosphere loaded with amenities to attract and maintain the best and brightest employees. Our design work over the years has included an orchard, a mini-golf course, sculpture garden, tennis court, entry walls and colorful plantings for their Powhatan campus.
DATES Start: 2013 Completion: 2015 DISCIPLINES Master Planning Site Design Landscape Architecture TEAM David Gerstenmaier, PLA
Bon Secours Heart Institute | Reynolds Crossing
Bon Secours Heart Institute | Reynolds Crossing
Corporate Campus Dining Terrace LOCATION Richmond, VA CLIENT Client Requests Anonymity ARCHITECT BHDP Architecture DATES Start: 2015 Completion: 2015 DISCIPLINES Landscape Architecture Civil Engineering Construction Management TEAM Dave Gerstenmaier, PLA Charlene Harper, PE
HG was tasked with assisting the architect with the design of the new outdoor dining terrace, and providing civil and landscape design for the perimeter of the terrace and surrounding land form affected by the expansion. We created bid documents showing how the addition would drain and how an existing storm sewer line and sanitary sewer line could be accommodated. HG served as construction manager, providing hands-on site supervision and working out a temporary pedestrian traffic pattern to keep the building accessible during construction. We were asked to bring smaller, local contractors to the table and bid out all the hardscape, grading, drainage, landscape and irrigation. When a communication pole and wire were encountered during construction, we were able to orchestrate working around the conflict while maintaining the integrity of the design since we were already on the site. In addition, we helped to keep costs down by working with trusted contractors, scrutinizing invoices, and making sure contracts were met to the complete satisfaction of our client. With two weeks of work to remain, the word came out that our client wanted the project done in half that time. Due to our strong relationship with the subcontractors and our ability to react quickly to the job site, we were able to stay on top of everything and even get our partners to work through the weekend. Our client was very appreciative of our efforts as the project was completed on their compressed time frame and was open for business. We were lauded for our ability to remain flexible as the scope of work changed, and to complete complex deliverables despite an aggressive deadline. As a result, the client has trust and a level of loyalty with the knowledge that with our supervision, the project will be completed beyond the satisfaction of all parties concerned.
design studio 5701 Grove Avenue Richmond, VA 23226Â www.1hg.net