Stick around long enough, and second acts become a lot more frequent. Just ask landscape architect David Young. As the founder of Naples- and Sarasota-based DWY Landscape Architects, he spent the last 25 years building a reputation for his thoughtful integration of sustainable horticulture and modern architecture. Recently, David found himself in an increasingly common situation: tasked with a new project on a property he’d worked on years before.
David designed the original landscape for a modern manse, drawn by architect Guy Peterson, in Sarasota’s Bird Key neighborhood nearly 20 years ago. When new owners called, offering quite a bit of latitude on the design and budget (both were restricted the first time around), David jumped at the opportunity. “They wanted something more lush, and there was less concern about maintenance,” he says. “We were able to really bring to light some things we had wanted to do years ago.”
The home was already stately, with its angular edges, several courtyards shielding the inner sanctum, and a raised footprint with straight views from the entry to the bay. David introduced a major, previously unrealized upgrade: adding a reflection pool to the courtyard. “The idea was to replicate the little ponds and small lakes you frequently see when you drive across Florida,” David says. “You’ll look across these pastures and see a little depression with a small pond reflecting the nearby trees with grass tucked up on the edge.” The whole thing contributes to a verdant feeling—despite the sharp lines of the contemporary home, the space feels lush and a bit wild. “We’re always thinking about how we can elevate the experience and create something where the architecture and the landscape are unified,” he adds.
David also renovated the motor court, adding cooling, high-reflectance pavers and a meditation bench shrouded by tall royal palms. In the courtyard, the landscape architect brought in plenty of no-mow zoysia tenuifolia grass, along with various types of palm trees, bromeliads and monstera, to create layers of texture, tapestry, shade and shadow. To intersperse more greenery among the built surfaces, David moved the entry walkway away from the house to allow more room for plantings and tucked bump grass between steps and walkways. “We’re creating a threshold, but we’re also inviting residents to come outside and enjoy nature,” he says.
David leaned into his appreciation for famed modernist Luis Barragán when updating the contemporary fountain in the inner courtyard. “Barragán was known for building brilliant water features,” he says. Now, pavers stretch across the water basin, and an adjacent wall is painted orange and illuminated, nodding to the Mexican architect’s flair for saturated hues. The scene feels alive with movement as water flows from the updated scupper down below, and the lights cast ripples across the space. “It’s also visible from the glass floor inside the home, so it brings that beautiful quality of refractive light to the interior,” he adds.
Water plays as important a role as any plant in David’s designs. “In a residential project, you have guests going from the public realm of the street to something private. We want to create an important moment before guests move inside the house,” he notes. In the courtyard’s reflection pool and the back swimming pool, water reflects the house, palms and sky and drives home the sensory experience for a lasting impact.
David had different goals for the backyard, where mature plants, including a curved coconut palm installed during the first iteration, help create a veil above the property. “Typically, the landscape in the front of a residence is intended to screen for privacy,” he says. “In the back, you want foreground planting that’s porous enough to allow unobstructed views of the water and skyline beyond.”
Rugged greenery from the front yard continues in the back, starkly contrasting the home and hardscape’s clean lines. Native palmettos and small-leaf clusia frame either end of the pool, where lounge chairs and a built-in bench with a fire feature allow space to relax and mingle.
To give the pool a “sexier” disposition and continue the plan to emphasize the Sarasota Bay views, David raised the water line, creating an infinity-edge look; he also changed the tile to an aquatic hue and the liner to a thinner porcelain. Softly tumbling Cotto d’Este porcelain decking, resembling the look of raw stone, spans as a thin strip across the width of the pool and continues for all hardscaped areas for a cohesive experience. When you arrive at the property, you feel like you could float from the courtyard through and under the home to the bay. “Good design is not arbitrary; it should be intentional,” he says. “It should draw people outside and inspire them to smell the roses and take it all in.”
Landscape Architect: David W. Young, Architect: Guy Peterson
