STACK ROCK GROUP – LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
The First SITES v2 Certified Corporate Campus in the World and the First SITES Certified Project in Idaho
PURPOSE & SCOPE
Overlooking the Treasure Valley with panoramic views of the valley and foothills with commercial and residential developments to the east, west and south, this project is defined by HP’s historic dedication to sustainability and stewardship. The clients’ vast number of daily international visitors and large workforce necessitate that the campus landscape not only look beautiful but function economically, provide broad biodiversity and offer numerous opportunities to enjoy nature to campus employees, guests and business partners.
The campus is 200.57 acres of which the project scope considered 46.52 acres of irrigated turf grass, 36.17 acres of active farmland; 3.38 acres of ponds that serve as the source for irrigation water; 93.16 acres of hardscape that includes buildings, parking, a 2-mile walking path, and roadways; 15.67 acres of prairie; and 5.67 acres of shrubs.
By converting 33 acres of Kentucky Blue Grass to a native seed mix, 5.67 acres to planters with native and adaptive native shrubs the project reduced annual maintenance costs by 44% and reduced landscape water usage by 81%.
STACK ROCK GROUP’S ROLE
Our role included creative and pragmatic guidance of the project every step of the way. This included a pre-project feasibility study, constant involvement from conception through construction, conducting a series of meetings and design charrettes with project stakeholders, engaging the proper consultants, designing and detailing the project, administering and observing the construction phase and completing and submitting the SITES certification materials.
We certainly couldn’t have done this project alone. The project team consisted of: landscape contractors, biologists, engineers, a soil scientist, a rangeland ecologist, a university student, a general contractor, HP’s site facilitator and HP’s stakeholders.
LOCAL SIGNIFICANCE
HP and the entire design and construction team sees this project as an investment in our local ecosystem services and as a sustainable model for site users and the community. The project furthers HP’s global sustainability initiatives and demonstrates that HP is a leading contributor in the technology industry as an international model for success.
The project has inspired numerous HP employees, neighbors and site users to implement sustainable landscape design elements into their own personal landscapes.
SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS
The project was awarded SITES Gold making it the first SITES v2 Certified corporate campus in the world and the first SITES certified project of any type in the state of Idaho.