Discovering the tree on the boulder

A friend recently told me of a group of sculptors who had (in my view) a rather unusual approach to their work. They would look at a single block of rock for some time and then based on what they could see and visualise, decide what to sculpt out of it.

Boulder Park within the development

When I was speaking with the developer of the area where my plot is, I heard a similar sentiment when he talked about how he had worked out the various elements of the development.

I believe this is the right approach not just when one is sculpting rock, but also when one wants to build a home in the middle of a pristine patch of nature. Our design needs to flow from the elements rather than clash with them.

I visited my proposed home site multiple times prior to purchase; I wanted to see it at different times of the day and wander around the place to get an intuitive feel of what I could do with it. The plot was overgrown with shrubs and creepers and there were several boulders visible in the midst of the vegetation. I had noticed a medium sized tree towards the middle of the northern edge of the site and clambered over multiple rocks to get closer to it. The tree was intriguing since it seemed to be growing on top of a rather large flat granite boulder - a few of the roots were also visible on the surface of the rock.

Tree on boulder elevated above site

There was a flat piece of ground between the tree and the northern wall - the top of the rock (and the base of the tree) was about twelve to fifteen feet higher than the rest of the site.

To me this tree was the first iconic element on the site - it would drive many design decisions given it would be one of the focal points on the site. While there wasn't much of it visible, I was thrilled by the possibilities it represented. Subsequently we cleared more of the vegetation and the scale of the tree was easier to see !

The tree on boulder - a clearer view

...Berm ...What's That ?

...Setbacks Galore !