Having recently moved into their property after an extensive renovation, this client sought a colorful, celebratory perimeter planting to serve as a path between the driveway and the back door. Using stone beds in areas facing heavier runoff flows, erosion damage to the beds was mitigated. A variety of flowering annuals and perennials were used to encourage pollinators, and a threadleaf japanese maple was planted in the corner to serve as a slow-growing feature plant.

Guiding both foot traffic and rainwater runoff, this permeable pathway was designed to slow and filter flows from the roads leading to this property. Delaware stone and shale gravel were laid down to create varied textures and effective obstacles for stormwater flows, with the pathway blending into the recently-completed backyard rain garden.

A remote design prepared for a client in Cherry Hill, NJ. Client desired to install the landscape as a family project, so I made sure to design with easy installation and maintenance in mind. Existing desired plants were preserved and/or transplanted whenever possible to reduce project cost. With a few phone calls during the installation process, I was able to guide the client toward her landscape goals, creating a backyard the whole family could enjoy.

Before photo, used for tracing and designing, can be found at the bottom of the gallery.

This bed at a commercial client was designed to remember a dearly missed friend and co-worker. A variety of flowering perennials were chosen, accented by small local boulders. The feature plant is a weeping cherry, flanked by mugo pines to create a striking spring bloom.

A series of concept sketches for a client in Westfield, NJ. Client sought to update her existing landscape with some fresh plantings and designs that would blend into recently completed property renovations.

A backyard re-design for a long-term client. Sitting at the bottom of a paved hill in a lakeside neighborhood, this property suffered from runoff erosion for years. The solution we arrived upon was a layered stone garden planted with shade-tolerant perennials. The stone beds effectively mitigated roadway rainwater runoff, slowing flow and allowing for percolation and filtration before entering Farrington Lake.

Before images can be found at the bottom of the gallery.

Designed with the future in mind, these photos are from a variety of residential clients Curry Landscaping, Inc. designed, installed and maintained over the course of years, slowly but surely bringing long-term visions to life.

A simple stair-side bed creating a natural focal point at the front of a client’s recently renovated property. Local boulders were used to define the interior bed shape as well as retain soil on the hill. Over time, the plants will also help to keep sloped soil in place. Before photos can be found at the bottom of the gallery.

An incredibly simple redesign of an existing bed at a church in Cherry Hill, NJ. Client sought an easily executable solution, so I sourced accessible plants and plotted a simple planting pattern. Design was carried out by members of the church congregation.

Back at Rutgers, I had an incredible TA, Charlie Kontos, Jr., for my Land, Measurement and Mapping course.  His passion for everything he did was inspiring, and his ability to turn a class based on using transits and calculations to map topography into something exciting should have earned him multiple awards.  His love and studies of wildlife and biology had him on course to host his own television show.  Tragically, he passed in 2010 at the age of 33.  Soon after his passing, I was contacted by his parents to design a memorial kiosk that would serve at the entranceway to the Livingston Ecological Preserve on Rutgers University's Livingston Campus.  

My design for them became more of a gateway than a simple kiosk--a structure that informs and engages, requiring visitors to pass through it on their way into the preserve.  Like Charlie, I wanted the kiosk to educate, leaving visitors with a lasting impression.  

Visually, I wanted the structure to appear simple--I wanted joints and hardware hidden, giving it the appearance of being free-standing.  Bringing this to fruition proved a challenge (more, "the illusion of simplicity"), and some compromises had to be reached to bring the project to fruition.  The horizontal slats serve to contrast the vertical trunks of the trees behind the structure.  Their spacing was designed to act as a bird blind for the adjacent wetland, rich with avian activity.  

The colored windows are meant to symbolize Charlie's ability to make the average exciting, providing visitors with different perspectives to see the world around them through filtered light.  

The structure itself was designed to be modular, allowing for the easy replacement of any broken slats without the need for excessive processing--just the simple cutting of 2x4's.  

These concept models were explorations on form, construction, and function, and were made in Rhino and rendered in VRAY.  

Needing some refreshing, this corner bed at a commercial client faces the nearest main road. After removing the existing blue rug juniper, some local boulders and low, flowering perennials were planted to bring pops of color while preserving visibility of signage.

The construction of the Charlie Kontos Memorial Kiosk was a long process with its fair share of challenges and roadblocks.  Ultimately, we were able to place the structure in a perfect location, visible to everyone entering the Livingston Campus.  

I used locally-sourced black locust lumber, an extremely dense and rot-resistant hardwood that required no pressure treating and could withstand decades in the elements.  The colored acrylic panels were cut to size on-site, and in addition to drawing attention to the structure, serve as light filters, allowing visitors to see the world a bit differently (photographers have enjoyed them, as have children).  The information panels, originally intended to be mounted on steel, were installed as acrylic windows with the laminated content sealed within.  The posts are secured to Perma Column footers planted five feet into the ground, as per code.  

The slats are spaced using black locust blocks that had been cut from the original posts during our processing, making use of every scrap and minimizing waste.  Two rebar rods were threaded through each information side of the kiosk, reducing the tension on the horizontal slats.  Fine bluestone gravel from a local quarry was used to cover the ground plane and establish a level grade.  

This project was part of a construction studio at Rutgers University focused on detailed technical drawings.  The aim for each student was to design an educational pavilion space for children and adults alike. 

My goal was to present visitors to the Liberty Science Center with new ideas, instilling in them an appreciation of lesser understood biological systems.  I used the form and function of mycorrhiza to design interesting and educational spaces.  Three-dimensional parametric modeling software (Rhino and Grasshopper) was used to model the branching patterns of mycorrhiza.  The resulting grid is constructed of permeable concrete and graded to promote water flow throughout the pavilion, much like mycorrhiza transports water and nutrients through its tendrils and into plant roots.  

The project's strength lies in its ability to visualize an underground system few are familiar with, and present it in a way that can be easily understood.  This creates in visitors the desire to learn more about the earth and its intricate complexities, which represents a new creative frontier.  

Programs Used:  AutoCad, Rhino, Grasshopper (plugin), Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop

The dedication ceremony of the Charlie Kontos Memorial Kiosk took place on October 23, 2014, on what would have been Charlie's 37th birthday.  A group of his family, friends, and many Rutgers Faculty members joined as his parents cut the ribbon, officially opening the kiosk to the public.  Now nearly four years after it's completion, the kiosk has seen thousands of visitors without any signs of wear beyond the natural patina of the black locust lumber.  The last picture in this series was taken on October 23, 2017, on the four year anniversary of the dedication.