Current Projects: Goodbuild Storefront

Corn+Bamboo+Bioswale+Pedestrian Way = The GoodBuild Storefront

GoodBuild on Martin Luther King prides itself on selling innovative, sustainable base materials for the home. From bamboo flooring to countertops and tiles made from corn and bamboo based products. The storefront is situated at the corner of MLK and Tillamook - a busy intersection for both bicycles and pedestrians. Currently, the storefront is encased entirely by impermeable blacktop asphalt - utilized as an expansive parking lot and shortcut for bicyclists on their way to the nearby crosswalk.

Stemmler Design saw great opportunity in the expansive asphalt surrounding the store. In working with the client, we explored how the landscape could serve an ecological function, capturing and filtering water through a vegetated bioswale, while better accommodating pedestrian and bicycle traffic.



At the same time, we proposed using materials in the landscape that mirrored what was being sold in the storefront - bold plantings of corn and bamboo serve as eye-catching devices, providing a dynamic and engaging way in which to advertise Goodbuild and its line of sustainable products.



The design is still in the conceptual phase. With further study we look to demonstrate how the application of sustainable-based design can solve programmatic issues and serve important ecological functions; all the while being leveraged as an innovative advertising and marketing tool for the small business. Stay tuned...

Current Projects: English Country meets Portland Agrarian

Recently, we were working in Northeast Portland. In collaboration with our client designing a backyard that would set the stage for all the activities one would expect from a young couple - summer outdoor dining, informal get-togethers and gardening opportunities galore. In determining the design direction for the backyard, we looked to the agricultural history of the neighborhood as well as the English countryside - the childhood stomping grounds of the client.


Prior to being partitioned up for residential homes, areas of Northeast Portland consisted of an impressive patchwork of agricultural fields and orchards. In exploring the design of this backyard, we gave a nod to this agrarian past by proposing a singular orchard tree as the focal point of the backyard.

The Prunus serrula
in our design scheme serves as the garden's living sculpture - providing year-round visual interest.

Important to the client was recalling aspects of the English countryside. Beautifully crafted dry stack stone walls are synonymous with the farming fields of England. Our design proposed a stone seating wall to frame the outdoor patio.
















Talk of English gardens pique your interest? Interested in learning about landscape architects who looked good in powdered wigs? Check out the combined design genius of William Kent and Capability Brown.