Through an on-going relationship with the property manager, JBC has continued to adjust the landscape and irrigation master plan as new maintenance programs are attempted and evaluated, new plant matrixes are tried, and new planting methods are implemented. The team members, which include representatives from the ownership, property management, the landscape contractor, and the landscape architect, are all pushing the edge of public perception and the science of urban restoration in seeking to restore the native plant heritage that defines Corporate Woods.

Corporate Woods Office Park Master Plan, Maintenance, and Irrigation Improvement
Kansas City, Missouri

In the late 1960's Sasaki & Associates forever changed the commercial office park with their innovative master plan for Corporate Woods. The critically acclaimed design carefully placed a high-density office development in a woodland setting. The 120-acre site was developed with very modest impact upon the surrounding native oak-hickory woodlands, resulting in a series of office buildings totally immersed in the woods.

In an effort to improve the property over the years, property managers made continual changes to the landscape. Native trees were removed, turf areas and irrigation were expanded, and horticultural plantings began to replace the native species. Gradually, these changes began to erode the natural character and simple clarity of the original master plan. In 1996, JBC was hired to create a new landscape and irrigation master plan and re-establish a sense of order to the site. Measures were recommended that would help Corporate Woods return to Sasaki's original "Eden" woodland concept and become a leader in urban ecological restoration.

This concept involved prioritizing the landscape areas and converting some of the lower priority turfgrass areas back to native woodlands while introducing more native species in other areas as the horticultural plantings are replaced. Since the completion of the landscape master plan, a total of twelve acres of turf has been returned to an ecological process, in some areas within a few feet of buildings. Over three acres of landscape irrigation has been abandoned, saving millions of gallons of water a year. Another twenty acres of turf has seen significant reductions in mowing frequency and chemical inputs. All of these improvements have also provided savings in labor and equipment necessary for maintenance. New native mixtures of grasses and plants are being installed. Leaf litter is no longer removed but is rather incorporated into the native areas, allowing the woodland to reclaim the parking lot edges. Native flowering plants have added seasonal color while preserving the integrity of the site.