10th@ Hoyt is the interior courtyard of an apartment complex in Portland, Oregon’s Pearl District. The design, by Koch Landscape Architecture is inspired by forms, textures, and colors of Persian gardens, presents an inward-oriented private oasis focused on a playful-yet-elegant illustration of stormwater collection, storage, and reuse. Stormwater from the roof travels down into the courtyard via copper downspouts in three locations; in each spot the water then travels via eye-catching chutes, runnels, and level spreaders of concrete, copper, and Cor-ten steel, eventually disappearing into raised basins filled with river stones. The water is then stored for up to 30 hours in a 4000 gallon cistern below grade. During the storage interval, the water is recirculated into elegant Cor-ten fountains in the courtyard. Detained runoff is then slowly released to the city stormwater system. Benjamin Rodes from Department of Landscape Architecture at University of Idaho has provided a Case Study of 10th@Hoyt.

Seattle Public Utilities and Seattle Department of Transportation replaced the existing ditch and culvert system along 4 blocks of Northwest 110th Street, between Greenwood Avenue North and Third Avenue Northwest in the Piper's Creek Watershed with a "Cascade" model natural drainage system as part of the Street Edge Alternatives program.  An online tour of the Street Edge Alternatives program is provided by the City of Seattle. Vegetation and swales that form part of the system help to filter out and break down polluted runoff, before the water reaches Pipers Creek.  The project is a series of stair-stepped natural pools that slow damaging stormwater flows, reduce flooding, and trap pollutants before they reach Piper's Creek. Stormwater flow from approximately 21 acres is managed through this natural infrastructure. (from Seattle Public Utilities)

The 12th Avenue Green Street project disconnects street stormwater runoff from a storm sewer that drains directly into the Willamette River and manages it on-site using a landscape approach. Stormwater runoff from SW 12th flows downhill along the existing curb until it reaches the first of four stormwater planters.  A 12-inch curb cut channels the street runoff into the first stormwater planter. Once inside the planter, the water is allowed to collect until it reaches a depth of six inches. The landscape system within each planter allows the water to infiltrate in the soil at a rate of four inches per hour. If a rain event is intense enough, water will exit through the planter’s second curb cut, flow back out into the street and eventually enter the next downstream stormwater planter.

The SW 12th Avenue Green Street Project has received a national award of honor from the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). Bureau of Environmental Services green street specialist Kevin Robert Perry designed the innovative street stormwater project.

Automated Trading Desk is a high-tech company that specializes in the development of computer programs and mathematical models to buy and sell securities. The client desired a campus that tied closely to the natural setting yet reflected the innovative work of the company. A sustainable design agenda was incorporated from the outset of the project. The 70,000sf building was carefully laced between historic trees and an interconnected series of stormwater ponds. The architects and landscape architects worked very closely to connect interior and exterior spaces. Stormwater is visibly traced from the roofs to open drain channels to meandering constructed stormwater basins. (From Nelson Byrd Woltz)  An article "Going with the Flow" detailing the design appears in the October 2004 issue of Landscape Architecture Magazine.

Runoff from the building roof is piped under the lawn area and the sidewalk to the central courtyard planters.  The planters act as infiltration basins allowing stormwater to soak into the ground.  Water tolerant species including spiraea, iris and Oregon grape are planted in a Japanese holly border.  The border hedge gives the planters a formal landscaped appearance not normally associated with stormwater facilities. 

At the Cedar River Watershed Education Center runoff is conveyed from the roof via downspout into a sculpted basin; from that point the water traverses a stone terrace in a most elegant meander.  That water trail is clarified, enhanced, and made safe by a cover of steel grating perforated with lilting curves that extend the "liquid" theme, alternating with river pebble fill.  Whatever the compositional decision, manipulation of the line of the water trail is a great design opportunity in artful rainwater design.  Mark Puddy from Department of Landscape Architecture at University of Idaho has provided a wonderful A Case Study: Cedar River Watershed Education Center.

Stormwater planters are constructed in existing landscape areas next to the parking deck. Half of the runoff from the parking deck discharged to the eastern planter and half is discharged to the western planter.The planters slope to one end, where runoff ponds to a depth of 11 in. before overflowing into the combined sewer via a raised drop inlet.Colorful bioretention plantings includes a variety of native trees and vegetation, improving the urban environment and aesthetic appeal of the property and surrounding commercial area.

Sustainable stormwater management system at New Seasons Market integrates stormwater into building and site development. Disconnecting the flow from the storm sewer system and directing runoff to more natural systems reduces the amount of runoff by allowing water to soak into the ground, and filters pollutants before stormwater reaches our rivers and streams.  New Seasons Market and the neighborhood association worked with Environmental Services to develop innovative sustainable stormwater solutions at New Seasons Market. (from Portland online Sustainable Stormwater Management)

The rainwater design at the Oregon Convention Center is a river abstraction that follows the building edge to convey runoff from the Center's 5-acre roof, while the design coyly entices the adventuresome to engage in the "river" experience.This linear water trail is separated from a nearby sidewalk by a luxuriant clipped lawn, and is even more clearly made separate by a border of thick plantings and rocks along its lawn edge; but at certain points the border opens, and a flat rock laid flush with the lawn beckons visitors to enter the "river" at one of the weirs.Once in, the adventuresome may clamber across the rocks, while others may choose to simply sit on one of the rock weirs and enjoy the lush surroundings.

The design presents a particularly effective strategy using a long water trail exhibits a variety of water treatment approaches and design elements in sequence: the trail begins on a corner of the building at a dramatic scupper from which water falls into a concrete basin incised with a spiral runnel.  In a rain event, water spirals from that basin into an adjacent wetland that visitors are invited to explore by walking across an elegantly meandering boardwalk.  At the end of the wetland the water disappears briefly under a roadway to reemerge in a bioswale designed to clearly indicate its function: the bioswale is lined with river stone and plants interspersed with pieces of driftwood, to drive home the water theme.  The bioswale forms a long axis, edged on one side by the parking lot and on the other by a walking trail—which ensures maximum visibility of the water treatment system.  At the end of the bioswale the water system again disappears briefly under a roadway, to end in a particularly intriguing piece of the system: a "flow splitter plaza".  Here effective signage and three visible valve heads indicate how the system diverts runoff into two different conveyance/infiltration swales: one grass-lined, and one rock-lined, while a third diverter awaits development of future treatment strategies.

Seattle's pilot Street Edge Alternatives Project (SEA Streets) is designed to provide drainage that more closely mimics the natural landscape prior to development than traditional piped systems.  To accomplish this, the design reduced impervious surfaces to 11% less than a traditional street, provided surface detention in swales, and added over 100 evergreen trees and 1100 shrubs.  Two years of monitoring show that SEA Street has reduced the total volume of stormwater leaving the street by 98% for a 2-year storm event. (from Seattle Public Utilities)

Siskiyou Green Street Project in a leafy residential neighborhood of Portland, Oregon.  This "stormwater curb extension" as described by the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services adds "bump-outs" to extend the curb line into the neighborhood street near an intersection.  Thickly planted with multi-textural sedges and ferns, and intersected by river rock dams and weirs, these right-of-way extensions catch street runoff and serve as biofilters. A simple sign standing in one of the landscaped extensions clearly shows, with brief text and images, how the system works and what it accomplishes.  This humble project provides a noteworthy example of multi-function: the extensions not only filter and slow runoff, but they also serve as traffic calming devices by narrowing the roadway while the lush plantings provide streetscape beautification that is compatible with residential plantings in the area.  The project also stands as a virtual exemplar of transferability, as it's very easy to see how this strategy could be used in other neighborhoods.  Indeed, according to Tom Liptan, Environmental Specialist for the City of Portland's Bureau of Environmental Services, residents of other Portland neighborhoods are now requesting the addition of this feature to their own streets, and are willing to open their own wallets to pay for this streetscape amenity. Sustainable Stormwater Management Program

 The designed the landscape for this Frank Gehry building on the MIT campus.  Nitsch Engineering designed the storm water bioretention system. Wendy Goldsmith Bioengineering did the planting design.  This system is multi functional: it is a constructed wetland that detains runoff to reduce peak downstream flow, the wetland's plants and planting medium cleanses the runoff, it allows some ground water infiltration, and a solar powered pump pushes the water back up to the wetland after its first pass through the water quality polishing cycle.  This pumping not only cleanses the water a second time it also maintains the wetland moisture level required for plant health and vigor.  The Olin concept was based of creating a "slice of new England," a piece of a riverine and wetland system.  MIT was not very interested in green design when these ideas were put first forth by the landscape architects and engineers. Once the university realized that the EPA would reduce some of their pending fines for other violations, they became supporters of these ideas! (Tim Baird)

Stephen Epler Hall, a dormitory on the urban campus of Portland State University.In this design the stormwater action is particularly dramatic in rain events: water shoots down a 5-story downspout and out into a rock-filled basin, gushes out a small scupper into a runnel that directs water across the space, then falls into a "biopaddy" (a sunken plant-filled basin).To ensure that people stop and enjoy the stormwater show, two benches are strategically placed to face the stormwater action.To make the experience even more inviting, the benches sit under a freestanding roof (great for use during the rain), and are backed by a wall to create an effective sense of "prospect and refuge".This design clearly encourages people to experience the artful rainwater story at Epler Hall.

GreenWorks collaborated with Atelier Dreiseitl of Germany to design an urban park in Portland's Pearl District. Envisioned as an urban park with a wetland focus, the park serves many residents in the newly developing Pearl District neighborhood. The design features innovative uses of water and stormwater, creating a refuge for people and wildlife in the midst of this bustling downtown neighborhood. The design process was highly interactive and involved the citizens of Portland through a series of interactive public workshops. (from GreenWorks)

The Dell is a stream corridor for the headwaters of a major regional watershed. Many sections of stream in the watershed have been piped to accommodate development, destroying the biological integrity of the stream system. In collaboration with Biohabitats, Nelson Byrd Woltz restored 1,200 linear feet of piped stream in The Dell to a natural condition. This daylighted stream then cascades into a precisely calibrated stormwater pond — one whose geometries reflect both the order of the University grid and the meander of the piedmont stream hydrology. The indigenous planting plan illustrates the spectrum of plant zones found in Virginia: the coastal plain represented in the area around the stormwater basin; the piedmont represented in the intermediate stream zone; and the upland Blue Ridge represented in the upper reaches of the restored stream. (from Nelson Byrd Woltz web site)

In the top portion of the park, water will naturally flow towards a low point in an ongoing attempt to find the fastest way across the land.This process often times results in organic shapes and forms and fluid landscapes.Over the course of time Willow Run has become a circuitous, meandering stream and provided the inspiration for the design in the northern third of the park.This area of the park allows visitor to see how organic, flowing, and at times untamed forms can be utilized in mitigation of storm water.The organic forms created in this area provide basis for comparison to the two other areas of the park.

Contrasting the first area of the park, the middle section is created with the interaction of humans and natural processes in mind.Humans influence on nature can be seen at Willow Run in the bank erosion, sedimentation and erosion.The design in the middle section demonstrates alternative ways to the mitigation of stormwater as a fusion between natural forms and constructed forms takes shape.This area creates a transition between the organic section of the park and the urban section of the park.

The third area is designed with an urban setting in mind as it played into its adjacency to Camp Hill's main street.This area of the park utilizes rigid forms and materials (juxtaposing the first section of the park) to demonstrate that the mitigation and cleansing of water will work despite the form that is used or the setting.