OCULUS served as the lead designer for site renovations at the Burgundy Farm Country Day School, a private K-8 school in Alexandria, VA. In addition to campus wide site improvements, the design upgraded the school’s play area and addressed stormwater issues.

Responding to the client’s interest in creative play and engagement with nature, OCULUS designed several custom features. Among these, a 300-footlong elevated steel tube weaves throughout the play area, supporting swings, climbing nets, and monkey bars. Other elements include a 35-footlong embankment slide flanked by boulders, a climbing wall, and an area for wet play with water gates and hand pumps.

Addressing existing stormwater problems, OCULUS designed three rain gardens and a cistern that overflows via a concrete runnel into a bioretention area. The perimeter of a pre-existing stormwater pond was planted with a native meadow seed mix, designed to support pollinators and provide educational opportunities for students to learn about biodiversity. A gabion wall retains planted terraces along the hillside that connects the classroom to the playground, and an orchard of heirloom apples, pears, plums, and peaches has been planted on the periphery of the campus for students to pick.