Bowman Consulting is a proud member of the design team for the Maury Schoolyard Initiative which recently received a Beautification Award by the Alexandria Beautification Commission(ABC). The annual awards ceremony held September 27, 2017 in Old Town Alexandria recognized City residents, organizations, and businesses and community groups for their efforts in contributing to the beautification of the City of Alexandria.
The ceremony featured keynote speaker Michael Vergason, of Old Town-based Michael Vergason Landscape Architects.His talk was titled, “Why Beauty?”
Located in the “Rosemont” area of Alexandria, this existing 5.0 acre playground and fields were improved based upon an initiative by the student’s parents attending Matthew Maury Elementary School, located at 600 Russell Road.The “Vision” for the project was based upon many meetings and design charrettes conducted by the parents, the Maury Staff PTA, and Gensler Architects.Once armed with this “Vision”, Bowman was selected as the Engineer of Record for the project along with Land Design, Inc., the selected Landscape Architects.
Bowman guided the Client and Design Team to modify the “Vision” to allow a cost-effective approach to obtain City approvals. Under the tireless leadership of Ms. Sue Setliff of the Maury School PTA, the Design Team developed and submitted a complex Grading Plan to the City for review and processing.The existing school yard suffered from inadequate drainage and the area was plagued with flooding and drainage problems upstream and downstream of the site. The Grading Plan included significant improvements to the existing drainage system and allowed the application to be in compliance with City and State Storm water Management Regulations.Neighborhood gardens and recycled surfaces were also included in the design. Saving existing important trees and other neighborhood elements were critical for the various stakeholders and the school community.