Barbara Geller, landscape designer, wanted to add a sunroom to her Bucks County converted barn residence. Incorporating an arched live green roof, the design fulfills the client’s goal of integrating the house with the beautiful landscaping, the stone garden walls and the surrounding wooded hills. 

The structure is set into the hillside and uses a natural material palette of wood and stone. The stone walls, both exterior and interior, link the traditional Bucks County bank barn with the garden walls and the rugged hillside beyond. The builder recycled stone from a nearby demolished barn ensuring that the new’ stone was a continuation of the existing stone. Based on a sun analysis, the owner specified a specially formulated “intensive” soil medium with 25% compost and 75% expanded mineral. Ground cover plants were selected for their shade and drought tolerances, low maintenance and multi-season interest. The small footprint of the addition (13’-6” x 16’) permitted the use of quality materials throughout and experimentation in green roof plantings. A series of charrettes highlighted the collaboration between the architect and the client, a landscape designer.