Radio Flyer
Sustainable Landscape Maintenance
CLIENT:
CYLA Design Associates, LLC
LOCATION:
Chicago, Illinois
PROJECT SIZE:
1 Acre
TIME PERIOD:
2013 – Present
ROLE OF THE FIRM:
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Maintenance of Native Rain Gardens, Bioswales, and Natural Areas
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Supplemental Native Plant Installation
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Redesign and Renovation of Failing Planting Beds
DESCRIPTION:
Radio Flyer, Inc., famous for its little red wagons, has created a legacy of toys for the last 100 years. With the renovations of their corporate campus, Radio Flyer saw an opportunity to revitalize and create their workspace to better reflect their innovative vision as a company. Their renovated LEED Platinum headquarters uses bioswales and cisterns to capture or treat stormwater and features a wide variety of diverse and beautiful native and adapted plantings in the landscape.
The overall goal of this project was to revitalize a failing native landscape
installed by another landscape contractor. The landscape was not performing the way it was designed and the maintenance was not being conducted correctly. Two years after the original installation, NLC was tasked with enhancing the aesthetics to match the original design intent. Maintenance goals include the control of invasive species, maintaining vegetation diversity, and ensuring consistent collection and conveyance of overland stormwater.
NLC was awarded this project in 2013 and revitalized the landscape through effective weedy and invasive species control and supplemental planting of native flora.