Saiki Design | Landscape Architects

Saiki Design worked with Strang architects on the design of a new headquarters for Culver Franchising Systems, Inc. in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin.  The landscape was designed to complement the prairie style building and preserve and integrate with the rural setting.  Native prairie provides the backdrop for broad sweeps of perennials along the entry drive.  Closer to the building, display gardens and a waterfall and pond are enjoyed through expansive windows or along paver walkways.  A terraced rear patio overlooks the Wisconsin River.  A small woodlot was preserved along with an old windmill and silo, enhancing the distinct but unified rural charm that permeates the site.  

The landscape also facilitates low-impact storm water management.  Roof water is discharged directly into the landscape without the aid of gutters and downspouts; two small ponds collect and filter runoff from the paved surfaces.  Saiki Design was responsible for site planting design and materials selection.

Saiki Design provided landscape architectural services including design and construction documents for an expansion of Findorff’s Headquarters, an iconic building sited on the shore of Monona Bay.  As part of the larger project, the design team worked from concept through construction documents for a modest sized extensive green roof over underground parking and storage.

The green roof serves as a physical connection between the employee break room and the adjacent grassy meadow.  The green roof transitions from a formal eating patio to an informal array of pavers, connected to allow foot traffic onto the green roof.  Growing media blends were designed specifically to address the minimal soil depths and load bearing capacity.  A palette of predominantly native plants was chosen to provide color, structure, and year-round interest for those using the patio on breaks as well as those whose office windows look down on the green roof.  Plants like veronica, columbine, allium, and phlox provided the colorful accent and flowering display; grasses and sedums formed the background planting structure.

Located in a unique part of downtown Madison, Seven27 is a high-end development featuring upscale apartments and amenities that support a vibrant urban lifestyle.  The site is bounded by a commuter bicycle path corridor, a bucolic city park and the historic Tobacco Lofts apartments.  The building’s shape and orientation accentuate views through the park to Monona Bay and forms a generous private courtyard space for residents and their guests to gather.  

The Seven27 central courtyard is an entertainer’s dream - providing a fire pit, built-in grills with adjacent counter tops and plenty of formal and informal seating.  The elevated wood deck was designed as an ideal spot for sunbathing or evening gatherings.  Challenged by a highly urban site, the courtyard is constructed above the building’s parking structure but it seamlessly melds the built environment with the landscape beyond.

The chaise lounge chairs aren’t the only green on site!  Rain gardens are integrated into the site’s landscape to manage stormwater and provide a showy palette of native plantings that wrap around the building.  Permeable pavers were utilized at the building’s front entry and in portions of the parking area.

Saiki Design provided comprehensive landscape architecture and civil engineering services and worked closely with developers at Urban Land Interests and architects at Valerio Dewalt Train Associates.

Saiki Design provided site planning and design for the Tobacco Lofts, the first redevelopment project initiated by Urban Land Interest at The Yards.  The project restored and retrofitted a uniquely configured pair of Cream City Brick warehouses in the abandoned rail yard, provided parking and site amenities for residents, and created connections to the urban fabric of Madison’s downtown via adjacent multi-modal paths.  The property fronts an active rail corridor and is adjacent a heavily used bicycle-pedestrian trail linking the Downtown with the University and also Madison’s Lakes Monona and Mendota.

The site plan for the property focused on the courtyard space between the linear warehouse buildings.  Blocks of native plant material at-grade and in board-formed concrete planters contrasted blocks of concrete paving and lawn to create a series of walkways between the two buildings.  Downspouts from the buildings were directed into sunken stormwater infiltration strips inter-planted with a mix of native species.  The courtyard design integrated a legal-play bocce court for residents and formal and informal seating areas.

Saiki Design, in conjunction with Bloom Companies, provided design services from concept to reality at Joy Global’s headquarters in Milwaukee. Makers of colossal-sized surface mining equipment, P&H Mining - a subset of Joy Global - is situated along Miller Park Way near the Hank Aaron Trail and has been manufacturing heavy equipment in Milwaukee since 1884.

Saiki Design re-envisioned the visitor experience while dramatically improving the site’s storm water management. Over 7,500 square feet of bioretention swales filter and stage surface runoff with engineered soils; swales are planted with native grasses and flowering forbs. Once a crumbling sea of asphalt and chain link fence, sweeping perennial & shrub beds now embrace the reconfigured parking lot in a garden-like setting while clay pavers, local stone, and seasonally-inspired gardens greet visitors at the entry plaza and drop off.

Saiki Design was responsible for finding a visible and integrated pad for a 51-foot tall shovel on site; the iconic gesture instantly became a neighborhood landmark and icon. In its entirety, the site transformation expresses the brand’s local identity, history, and commitment to quality.

The project was the recipient of a prestigious Design Award from the City of Milwaukee’s Mayor.