The Big One: A corporate retreat

Company: Ruppert Landscape
Location: McLean, Va.

The goal of this financial institution’s corporate campus is to create an environment for both work and relaxation. Ruppert Landscape works to maintain a variety of outdoor spaces removed from the hustle and bustle of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

The campus is always expanding, and ongoing construction is a challenge for the maintenance crews. Construction equipment has caused soil compaction. Low-nutrient soil is an issue in some areas, so soil nutrient levels and turf conditions are constantly monitored.

Crews must adjust their schedules to accommodate busy hours on the corporate campus and complete work in high-traffic areas before commuters begin to arrive at 7 a.m. Often, maintenance starts at 5:30 a.m.

Despite the challenges, the project is rewarding for Area Manager Christa Bush.

“The most rewarding part of working on this project is the views — standing on the eighth floor terrace, you can see the entire McLean skyline,” she says. “On the landscape, my favorite parts are that the edges are crisp, the grass is weed free, the plant material is newer and the pruning always seems perfectly in place.”

The project earned Ruppert Landscape a 2019 Gold Award from the National Association of Landscape Professionals’ Awards of Excellence program.

Photo: Ruppert Landscape

This global financial institution’s McLean, Va., campus is immediately recognizable against the Tysons Corner skyline, situated right off interstate 495 in a busy hub of the city.

Photo: Ruppert Landscape

The more than 7,000 perennials, ornamental grasses and shrubs on the site help with sustainability, but highly visible areas including the site entrance and roundabout feature bright, colorful annuals. These are inspected for weeds and treated with fertilizer one to three times per week and are rotated twice per year, in the spring and fall.

Photo: Ruppert Landscape

Due to the amount of direct sunlight and reflective heat from building windows, the client chose to install artificial turf in this small art exhibit area. The contractor is tasked with keeping the turf area free of leaves and debris while maintaining the surrounding landscape.

Photo: Ruppert Landscape

This gravel walkway acts as both a design feature and peaceful spot for passersby to stop and sit, with a naturalized design showcasing shrubs and perennials such as hydrangea, lilies and roses. Crews hand prune the property in sections, taking a five-man crew roughly three 10-hour days to prune the entire campus.

Photo: Ruppert Landscape

Bioretention planters line the streets and act as filters to ensure the pollutants from stormwater runoff are minimized and do not make their way into waterways. Specially engineered soil mixes work in concert with water-tolerant species such as inkberry, rudbeckia, purple cone flowers and grasses to break down contaminants, recharge the groundwater and provide aesthetic appeal.

Photo: Ruppert Landscape

Crew members must be accompanied by security to access terrace areas and must hand carry all material and equipment through the building and service elevators. Crews schedule terrace maintenance to not only align with the security team’s availability, but to avoid performing maintenance while the adjacent conference rooms are in use.

Photo: Ruppert Landscape

Three terraces on different levels of this building provide tranquil spaces for outdoor seating adjacent to the cafeteria and conference rooms. Maintenance on the terraces include weekly pruning and weeding. Evergreens provide year-round visual interest, while flower rotations in late spring (begonias and lantana) and fall (violas) add a pop of color.

Photo: Ruppert Landscape

Irrigation crews service the terraces weekly to check soil condition and run times, ensuring everything is operating properly and providing the right amount of moisture. Even with a strong focus on irrigation, using drought and heat tolerant plant material — such as Japanese garden juniper, sweet potato vine, begonias and lantana — help keep the planters looking lush and healthy.

Photo: Ruppert Landscape

A large green roof helps to absorb heat and reduce the urban heat island effect, while providing a more aesthetically pleasing view for the floors above. These sedum plants are also very heat and drought tolerant but are kept hydrated by the irrigation system which is closely monitored. Occasional weeding of the green roof is necessary, in addition to frequent inspection for drainage backups to ensure irrigation flow paths are not blocked. The maintenance specifications for this area call for a more neat and tight approach.

Photo: Ruppert Landscape

This interior courtyard stays relatively shaded throughout the day and is thereby susceptible to oversaturated soil and turf conditions. Shade tolerant paper bark maples, hostas and euonymus groundcover thrive here, but do require frequent trimming to keep orderly. Crews use push mowers as opposed to walk-behind mowers because they are lighter and don’t cause ruts and turf compaction.

Photo: Ruppert Landscape

The parking garage has several raised planters on the top level that require regular pruning and weeding. As maintenance vehicles are too large to reach the top floor, crews must bring equipment up several flights of stairs. Other areas requiring special attention include the loading dock which has a raised landscape hedge along the top of a retaining wall, requiring a boom lift to access for pruning at least twice per year.

Photo: Ruppert Landscape

Even the low-visibility areas require strict attention, as they can be clearly seen by employees working on upper floors. The contractor mows the hillsides and maintains the naturalized areas between the fence line and I-495, as well as the tree line that acts as a buffer and helps to prevent road noise.

Photo: Ruppert Landscape

Outdoor seating for the property’s new restaurant and café are afforded a level of peace and privacy by large naturalized landscape beds.

Photo: Ruppert Landscape

Another high-visibility, high-heat area was installed with artificial turf for a low-maintenance outdoor seating area. Just beyond this, there is a new building being constructed which will become an integral part of the campus and will expand the scope of work for the landscape contractor.

Photo: Ruppert Landscape

Providing a consistently high standard of maintenance in this landscape is challenging. But with strong communication between all parties and an eye to detail, the project — which is always growing in scope — seems to be accomplishing its goal of creating a world class landscape for its employees and visitors.