TFMoran Landscape Architects designs outdoor space for Sunrise Labs with property manager Riley Enterprises and contractor JET Concrete

Bedford, NH Sunrise Labs, a leading provider of product development solutions to medical device OEM’s, asked TFMoran’s Landscape Architects to help them incorporate some useful outdoor space into the programming of their existing office building. The goal was to create an outdoor patio as an alternative gathering area to accommodate meetings, lunches and other functions for 50 people, while maintaining social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

TFMoran’s team of landscape architects worked closely with Sunrise Labs, property manager Riley Enterprises, and contractor JET Concrete of New Ipswich to get the new patio in place by the fall of 2020, so that the employees of Sunrise Labs could begin to enjoy their new outdoor space as soon as possible.

“We started with a curvilinear approach to the design, to soften the space and distinguish it from the straight lines of a traditional office layout,” said Michael Krzeminski, PLA, TFMoran’s lead landscape architect. “The 2,500 s/f patio begins small at the entrance of the building and gradually widens as it flows out towards the shade of the forest edge southwest of the building. To enhance the natural feel of the space, the patio surface was created from stamped, colored concrete in a natural-slate Ashlar pattern.”

“Another important design objective was to buffer the patio from adjacent roads and parking areas,” Krzeminsk said, “A mixture of deciduous and evergreen trees, flowering shrubs, and perennials were placed along the outer curved edge to add seasonal color and privacy to the patio, and large granite benches lining the perimeter provide additional seating and help define the space. And to create a sense of identity, we used Sunrise’s company colors in the design, with bright orange tables filling the center of the patio, and a blue awning that will be installed for protection against sun and rain.”

“The patio offers us a wonderful outdoor space to gather and appreciate the fresh air and trees that we are so fortunate to live among,” said Eric Soederberg, CEO Sunrise Labs.