HHMI Janelia Research Campus

Overview

A National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) and Landscape Contractors Association (LCA) award-winning project. The Janelia Farm Research Campus occupies 689 wooded acres along the Potomac River in Loudoun County, Virginia. This world-class biomedical research facility is the first research campus for the world-renowned Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). The complex includes a large laboratory building, conference facilities, and a nearby housing village to accommodate resident researchers. The landscape design incorporates a series of unfolding gardens, water features, statuary and winding pathways that help blend the buildings with their natural surroundings while encouraging staff to enjoy the site’s serene amenities. The $2.2M landscape installation was actually a redesign of the existing site, which had been installed in 2004, and was intended to give the campus a quieter, more naturalized feel. Parking areas were relocated and hidden from view, white noise was incorporated into sitting areas with water features, and walking paths were created throughout so that staff and visitors could enjoy a peaceful, more inspirational campus.

Project Scope

Demolition work; detailed hardscape work; two water features; erosion control; stone seat walls; flagstone paving; a high-end irrigation system; granite paving and curbing; walls; site lighting; an asphalt trail; parking lots and roadways; storm water inlets; and significant plantings, including several thousand shrubs, over 10,000 grasses and perennials and 300 trees.