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One of our project managers is also an excellent drone pilot and recently used our place to test drive new software. We ended up with some cool images. This one caught my eye, because you can really see the “figure eight” of our entry. It was designed this way for some specific reasons.

For starters, our property is not very deep front to back. While one can see our place from the road, the entrance is at the far opposite end. The long drive, along with the vibration traveling over the tar and gravel surface, becomes an “attitude adjustment time.”

Along the way, you pass our barn with its meaningful barn quilt art made by our neighbors at Mitchell’s Place before arriving at the parking area. The center of the figure eight drive contains a bioswale designed to handle the storm water from several hundred acres. Its grasses act as a filter of suspended solids before flowing into our lake and then the Cahaba River. Lighting is low level LED to eliminate light pollution.

The bridge connects the lower portion of the figure 8 and allows connectivity to fountains at our entrance vestibule. The final element is a braided leather door handle, which adds a tactile experience into the mix. The goal was to touch multiple senses and let the campus tell a story that mirrors both our corporate values and our design values. We wanted to convey respect for what we do and the environment.

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Merrill Stewart is Founder and CEO of The Stewart/Perry Company, a commercial building contractor based in Birmingham.