Landscape Architecture Students Design Terraces for Philly Developer

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorPhiladelphia–The DePaul Group, developer of The Residences at Dockside in Philadelphia recently commissioned two landscape architecture students from Temple University Ambler to design the property’s terraces.Seniors Jenny Stewart and Jennifer Johnson used a collection of annual plants chosen specifically for the waterfront climate based on the surroundings and the overall feel at the luxury property. The plant selections included Lantana ‘New Gold,’ oleanders, Dracaena ‘Dusky,’ salvia ‘Black and Blue,’ leymus ‘Blue Dune,’ alternanthera ‘Purple Knight’ and others.  During the course of the project, the students researched the environment, took photos of the site, measured the space and came up with designs that best complemented the project’s settings. Stewart and Johnson designed two of the terraces connected to units, and helped redesign the 4,100-sq.-ft.-terrace connected to Dockside’s club room.“We like to give back to the community and work with various charity organizations on different events, and we feel like this is one more way we can give back by providing a real-world experience to these students,” Victoria Teschner, director of sales and marketing for The Residences at Dockside, tells MHN. “Moreover, we find that the students’ designs are always from a fresh point of view. We know they are learning new techniques everyday in class, like what the latest trends in landscape architecture are, and for that reason alone we like to have them reinvent our terraces once a year.”The two terraces the students designed are 67 and 75 sq. ft. and are connected to two-bedroom model units. “The first had more of a native theme using large leaf plants and grasses, the other was designed with flowering plants,” says Teschner.The DePaul Group reached out to area landscape architect teachers who passed it along to their students. “We heard back from Jenny Stewart and Jennifer Johnson, juniors from Temple Ambler, which has a strong landscape architecture program. We were lucky enough to find two students who were highly qualified, had lots of energy,” says Teschner.  The developer is also considering this model for a few of their other residential communities. The Residences at Dockside features 242 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom luxury waterfront condominiums. They range from 700 to 2,000 sq. ft., and prices range from the high $200,000s to more than $1 million.