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McDonald's Restaurant - Federal Way, WA

LANDSCAPE DESIGN

 

Client: McDonalds Corporation, Bellevue, WA

Project Size: 1,500 Square Feet

 

McDonalds Corporation was interested in locating a store in the Federal Way area. The site they had identified was limited in size and had a few constraints attached. The street frontage was narrow, with future Right of Way dedication required. A water quality bio-swale was needed for storm water treatment. Access was restricted to only one shared drive. Parking was required at 2 spaces per 100 square feet and circulation next to the drive-through lane was requested. All of these features provided a challenge to site planning and layout.

 

R. W. Thorpe & Associates was asked to provide services covering site layout and landscape architecture. The landscape code allows for a reduction in required buffer planting bed width if a demonstration of superior effect can be made. The buffer requirement was 15 feet wide to separate the commercial site from a residential zone, even though a fire station was the adjacent use.

 

We were successful in designing a living wall that had pockets for soil and plants. The wall face and top was modulated to give relief. The height was 6 feet maximum, and the base was 4 feet wide. This design allowed a 10 foot reduction in the required landscape area and provided a superior screen than could be accomplished with just trees and shrubs.

 

The plants selected for the living wall provided various bloom colors throughout the year, and the vines trailed on both sides to further soften the structure.

 

Other landscape features included a lawn area, flowering trees, flowering shrubs and seasonal color to draw attention to the landscaping. Many of the plants selected were chosen to prolong the bloom period so that for most of the year one or more plant type would be in flower and in full color.

 

 

 

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