A WINE CELLAR PROJECT (and) A MONTHLY BOCCE BALL GATHERING
The Wine Cellar project is located in the Menlo Oaks neighborhood of Menlo Park, California, an enclave of many historic Eichler homes, large suburban lots, towering oaks, and perfect year-round weather.
The project is centered in the middle of an expansive neighborhood block, accessed by a 350-foot-long cobblestone drive. A visitor would arrive at a modern remodeled Eichler home with a tantalizing view of the garden receding slightly downhill to the right of the home.
The garden was transformed from a flat piece of land into an interesting landform, comprised of terracing “rooms” that one can meander through, and it is within the heart of the garden that the wine cellar resides. There is also a feeling of something spiritual, a comment emphasized by any one has spent a day or an evening there.
The wine enthusiast owner requested a cellar design after his collection outgrew the current storage capacity. Building a cellar underneath the slab foundation of the house was not a feasible option so, I explored several concepts for an underground wine cellar in the back yard. This presented a challenge due to the constraints of existing oak trees, a swimming pool, stormwater management, utility easements and setback requirements. Additionally, by carefully determining precise X, Y, Z coordinates for the underground Wine Cellar I was able to avoid over $130,000 dollars in shoring expenses.
A favorite design emerged that presented a cave entrance to a sunken wine cellar. This would require a particular design grading and drainage challenge as the floor of the cellar would become the lowest point on the site located twelve feet below existing ground level on a very flat piece of land with the entire Menlo Oaks Neighborhood having an average slope of 1%. Local code required the stormwater management system to be engineered for a storm severity calculation of 130 gpm. That meant pumping water uphill to a large dry well system.
The design evolved into include a sunken entertaining space protected from the nightly prevailing winds off the San Francisco Bay. The depression was defined on two sides by a simple geometric L-shaped rammed earth retaining wall adjacent to an existing swimming pool. This provided protection from the wind and a spot for a fireplace to heat the area, otherwise unusable on cool evenings. The other sides of the sunken area were defined by a softer, organic “landform” made up of boulders and masonry that mimic the rocky landform encasing the wine cellar cave door, a cascading water feature and front and back steps to enter and exit the sunken space. The vertical sequence to the cellar begins with a five-foot flight of stone steps looking as if they were carved out of the rock formation down into the fireplace level then another two and a half vertical feet down to the cave door. From there, a final interior flight of stairs takes you to the four hundred square foot and design elements) wine cellar.
At the plaza level, the L-shaped wall presents a contrast of the simple geometry of a rammed-earth wall with the organic rock landform. The softness of the landform flowing down into the space, offsets the nine-foot height of the rammed earth wall. The sedimentary nature of the wall fit perfectly with the “archaeological’ excavation concept. Putting a “geological” timeframe to the design, the rammed earth walls were meant to look as if they were built on top of an existing rock formation, the stairs “chiseled” out of the rock, the water feature carved into the bedrock, the rocks penetrated over time with native vegetation flourishing as if nature was left undisturbed.
The borrowed landscape was another element of the project of the extended flag lot which is a 360-degree companion to cellar. No roads or adjacent homes are visible, just a beautiful mature tree line which had a tremendous influence over the plant choices and the overall spirit of the garden.
The surrounding 20,000 square feet of landscape is a planted meadow with waving grasses punctuated by seasonally changing spots of color courtesy of the seasonal flowers from the evergreen and deciduous flowering shrubs, perennial plantings, bulbs, corms, and tubers. The terracing offers those walking through the garden winding paths, hidden seating areas, the sound of the trickling waterfall in the distance, and eventually the gradual descent to the rammed earth landform within the garden and the intriguing cave entrance framed by a sandstone lintel and a customize designed wooden door with a speak easy grate opening to the cellar that also functions as an air intake window for the cellar.
On the far side of the cave and cellar, the garden continues with a bocce ball court, and an outdoor kitchen and dining area. Add night lighting, the sound of music, the softness of the water, wonderful meals, and wonderful friends who transform for a while into bocce ball combatants fighting for bragging rights and you get a one-of-a-kind entertainment space.
This is one of the few gardens I get the privilege of enjoying regularly when I join the monthly bocce group for a game, a meal, a bit of wine, and always, a spiritual experience in a horticultural wonderland.
Architecture offices involved in the design: Ken Hayes Group
Location: San Mateo County Menlo Park California
Design year: 2017
Year Completed: July 2019
