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Hocker Landscapes

The limestone floor stretches out from this Dallas house’s two-story atrium to become an elevated terrace that seamlessly connects interior to exterior. One side of the terrace folds down, like a little beach, to create a basin where water from bubbling jets enthralls both avian visitors who stop in for a bath or a drink as well as humans seeking respite from nearby city life.

The sunken outdoor living room in this East Texas retreat—accessed via wide weathered steel-lined sodded treads–is ruggedly accommodating, with a permeable gravel surface underfoot, and an Oklahoma blue boulder wall to protect from the breezes. Teak furniture by David Sutherland is comfortable and will weather well.

The concisely detailed outdoor space anticipates the orderly grid pattern that appears in the concrete patio. Other rectilinear shapes—the Neolith ceramic water feature and the board-formed concrete wall behind it—allude to the rigor of the design. Precisely trimmed evergreen vines cover an existing fence, providing privacy.

Book Review by Book Authority.
Helen Thompson Author
A visually stunning overview of the work of internationally recognized, award-winning landscape architecture studio Hocker, whose thoughtfully conceived projects reveal a deep understanding of environment and materials, and express a strikingly contemporary point of view.This monograph is the first to present the work of the award-winning, Texas-based but internationally recognized landscape architecture studio Hocker. Founded in 2005 by David L.
Hocker, the studio has over fifteen years of practice earned wide acclaim for projects that are meticulously detailed, evince a superlative understanding of materials, thoughtfully address environmental context, and promote an arrestingly contemporary aesthetic. Hocker’s work, and the fifteen projects featured in the book, represent a range of typologies, from residential gardens to urban parks. Among them are landscapes for a weekend retreat in the Sonoma Hills (winner of the 2019 ASLA Award of Excellence), a former power station-turned-contemporary art center (winner of a 2016 ASLA Honor Award), the revitalized Dallas Museum of Art (winner of a 2017 ASLA Texas Chapter Merit Award), a historic synagogue, and a Cistercian abbey and preparatory school. Equipped with the knowledge necessary to confront complex environmental and programmatic challenges, Hocker nevertheless approaches each project with the ambition of creating spaces that are simple and restrained, but beautiful and engaging.

 

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