Manicuring The Manning
A look at the 'neoclassical' design of the $60 million residential project
The Tennessean - Sarah B. Gilliam
August 15—When a $60 million residential project such as The Manning in Belle Meade begins to take shape, developers consider everything from countertops and flooring to landscape design.
That is where Ben Page Associates comes in. The Nashville-based landscape design firm supplied the outdoor blueprints for the project on Woodmont Boulevard.
“The things they came to us for was something that was a step above everyone else,” said landscape architect Gavin Duke with Ben Page Associates. “Something that said, ‘This caters to a lifestyle with the wants and needs ... these people are after, which is to create a large scale design but make it feel like it is your very own.’ “
Residents of The Manning will spend $950,000-$5.5-million on units in the 34-condominium building, slated to be completed in 2009, and Duke wants the garden to match the residents’ lifestyle.
“We wanted to capture the essence of a cutting garden and also pool activity that was on a scale that made you feel a little more intimate ... and also sort of a performance lawn that they could still carry on a lifestyle. They could still have a place where they could have a small party,” he said.
They understand Southern lifestyle
That is exactly what Manning developer LaRawn Scaife Rhea had in mind when she decided to go with Ben Page Associates.
“We just really felt the Ben Page group understands Southern living,” Rhea said. “Gavin came up with a beautiful site plan that incorporates the genteel elegance with European influences but that is still low maintenance.”
That is one of the reasons Rhea and her husband, Richard, the lead architect for The Manning, decided to live in one of the condos they are developing.
“I am a real garden person, and I like being out in nature,” she said. “We couldn’t find anything that really met our needs.”
One obstacle Rhea found when looking for a new home was finding a condo with green space that didn’t have to be maintained when she and her husband traveled. The concierge service at The Manning allows residents to leave without worrying about the plants on their balconies.
“The one thing that we wanted was this to be livable and a living experience where you experience life in an a genteel way, but in a functional way and a carefree way,” she said.
Duke finds inspiration aboard
Much of Duke’s inspiration for the project came from his travels in London and Paris. He incorporated London Plain trees and boxwoods, but also uses influences from the courtyard garden feel of petunias and White Glow coleus reminiscent of places in Georgetown and Charleston.
“I see a lot of the architecture being a little more neoclassical, and I take that element out into the garden,” he said.
Duke’s work with Ben Page Associates led him to projects throughout the country and also close to home. In addition to work with large companies, he works with private residents.
A few years ago, he worked with a family in Williamson County to create a unique garden setting.
With help from the owners on Leiper’s Fork Road, Duke worked to transform a cottage farmhouse into a garden retreat.
The blueprints for the landscape project included a stone greenhouse, book cottage and labyrinth enclosed in a stone and wrought iron fence around the gardens.
“There’s a lot of joy in sort of transforming some of these properties,” he said.
Residences at The Manning vary in size from 1,800 to 6,000 square feet and include a balcony or terrace, with access to a grand salon, veranda, private wine storage, event planning and personal concierge services.
Sales for The Manning began in July.
