Here is the Permaculture Design Plan for Lake Anne Village.
I

2009
All rights reserved DD Maucher. Republish for education and non for profit only.

Background:
The county and place of Reston gas been for yard trying to regenerate economy in this village center. Once big box and lots of shopping choices moved the money and vital energy out of the place of pleasure and commerce it suffered. There are drawings in place now by the county of Fairfax to add many new towers, an underground garage, lots of new shopping and hopefully public art and urban garden opportunities. Gazillions of dollars and many more years will be needed before the village center will perk back up.

After the Permaculture PDC DD Maucher took a stab at a design plan that could be started with little money- community kickstaters and community small business investing that would enable locals to attract shoppers and visitors back to the center.

To state: Watershed

The plan states with watershed revitalization and restoration. Without this foundation the plan is not as strong. Once the lake is healthy and wonderful Eco systems are re-established around the streams and water run-off locations the fish in lake Anne will be consumable. With the help of the community using the effective microbes and natural cleaning products in their home environments the watershed can begin to maintain it’s health. Also composting their food waste with the fermentation method trenching that on their ground will help in the run off as well. The county is already starting work on the restoration of the streams that run into the lake. More help will come from holding back and slowing water with rain harvesting from roofs on each house or from a series of townhouses. Allowing more to soak into the earth recharging the aquifer. There are labels on all the storm drain now that remind people what goes into the drain will go directly into the lake. The new idea is to create rain garden around the curb and sidewalk areas, day light storm pipe pathways to become streams and French drains, or even wet lands and create marsh type systems with rocks. The serendipitous benefits are to name a few: healthy swimming, back-up potable water using a filtration system, water for gardening and emergency use, edible fish and more biodiverse habitat — more food for all creatures.

The watershed plan itself is extensive.

FOOD:
Part of phase one is also to start a food co-op. An inexpensive model to bring healthy food shopping back to the center with the help of generous start up money– in this design it has been placed next to the parking lot where the bank was in the 70’s.

The massive storm drain infront of this building that connects the upper lake with the lower will be day lighted and made into a decorative canal (dry or wet) rain garden plants and ecosystem micro climate– trellised with fruiting vines.

This connects at a T infront of the market near the plaza entrance with the water flow coming off the Fellowship House (elders:eyes on the street). Also made into a shallower canal mostly covered with mini bridges allowing access to the outside fruit and veggies part of the market.

There Fellowship water will have some power from it’s decent enough to create an element of excitement and pond at the bottom of of journey for some fish, turtles and frogs on Lilly pads.

The paved parking lot will be replaced with well designed appropriate variety of new terrain — porous pavers and stable surfaces. The current surface is super toxic — I read about this parking lot on the USGS web site while researching for the analysis for this plan.)

Directly In front of the market will be a ambling garden for locals and shoppers to pick up ideas on how to design their neighborhood gardens with a mix of traditional decorative but mostly an edible medicinal useful garden diverse enough for butterflies and migrating birds. Herbs, veggies, berries fruits and nuts.

Up about half way will be a chicken coop that washes its glorious waste into the garden as fertilizer. The small chicken coop will catch rain to provide water for the chics, fish and garden. Add bunnies. The ducks are in the lake.

Up from that at the top west side of the parking area is the green house with hydroponics and soil growing year round.

This will eventually, phase 4 (slow money model), be built into a large vertical glass building on top of the “information building “at the original “entrance” of Reston. Say 6 floors or more, rounded corners. Fish hatchery on the top floor with sun set and sun rise corners being balconies with water flowing from the roof around the flanks of the balconies. The water pathway will be plants growing hydroponically and the decent will enable a fountain at he base attracting people passing by into the center.

As one enters historic Reston by personal travel device they can see through the building’s archway to the lake and the market gardens.
For added fun I added a trapeze school in the parking area that would give a driver the random opportunity to see flying humans through the vignette.

Perhaps growing birch trees — though might block too much view.

The bottom floor of the new Lake Anne vertical farm is an experimental Arts Center maintained by the elderly in the Fellowship house and college interns staying in the new community apartment building over the now one story Buddhist center opposite side of the plaza.

The other side first floor is a Permaculture Business Education Center that is world renowned. These temporary students also live in the community apartments.

Credit for rent or food is given for professional positions in one of he installations.

The second floor of the building will be indoor space for farm animals and some visitor information about the revitalization experiment. The animals will graze across the street on either side of the entrance way. There is the day lite storm drain to adapt into a water stream for the animals as well as provide more habitat for little creatures birds and bugs. Berry bushes a fodder growing abundantly buffering the animals from the traffic.

This grazing space is accessible to the elders by a raised boardwalk through the woods. There will be seating at the edge of the woods for them to watch people come n go and watch (take note ) of the animals. Eyes.
The animals will be rotationally grazed by a workers at the Fellowship house, hydroponics farm or alternative travel device station (the former gas station).
These workers could be immigrant Hispanic who live currently in the Crescent apartments above the former gas station. There will be a fruit orchard planted on the Crescent apartment hill. The animals will rotate over there. Possibly also to browns Chapel and playing fields via the underground pedestrian tunnel.
The orchard is fertilized by the animals just enough. The hills is bioswaled with little ponds at each end to irrigate the trees and prevent erosion. There are 2 more opportunities for day lighted streams in either side of this hill.

The Mutant Vehicle Station
will be an experimental lab and shop for local alternative vehicles. The alternatives are able to get a permit to drive in and around the Lake Anne, Tall Oaks Area which extends to future metro drop off locations and the Reston Town Center. They can not go on 606 or beyond the toll road, or on Reston Parkway.

There will be bike paths on all roads. There will be in the phase 4 plan a raised bike path diagonally cutting across Reston for fast commuting by bike. (details on a sep sheet)

The Mutant or Experimental Vehicle Station will be one on the four landing spots for the gondola on its’ roof. There is an easy spiral decent -no steps– and wheel chair attachment on the wall. The station is run by solar power generated by the hydroponics buildings solar glass walls. There is a vertical wind turbine but not a great spot for it. Better for wind is the top of the Crescent houses and fellowship house. Also the east end of the lake, ball clueless and lake Newport. Plenty of opportunities.

The roof water is captured in the center of the spiral decent for an attractive aquarium and photo energy experimentation and bioluminescence lab.

Moving on to the old 7-11. Now the .. Teen center. The roof opens up (phase 4) like a camera shutter to the stars with a powerful telescope. The interior is a planetarium or game station. The kids can play interactive computer games or play music and light and visual art shows. There is super affordable healthy market prepared foods by a crescent house resident chef or permaculture work study. The teens have a natural toilet that creates biofuels and soil building for the wooded area. There is a bat house and tree house, building space and sculpture space in the woods around. Also great for interactive game and inventions.

The Strawberry Bus
stops outside. The seats spin or there are bike peddle that charge it’s battery. Free book swap in the back — or downloads in the back. Hair cuts on Thursday’s. The roof grows strawberries which are free to all riders. It’s an alternative experimental vehicle that connects to RTC and the metro, the ball fields.

The recycling station
and glass blowing studio. Plastics art lab. This is where locals do extensive source separation. Collection of all electronics that can be useful (as in not refrigerators). Up to 60 bins for separation — the resource is used for art projects– only available to local kids for free. Schools out of town purchase the items. (the extensive separation process creates creative value. Done currently in Japan)

The parking is limited to 20 cars — people are encouraged to walk or bike or build a vehicle — golf cart or whatever.

The center of the parking area will be open for community tent and work days, harvest meals, chaos group cooking, making, building, awards presentations….

The wind tunnel that shoots through the plaza makes a nice opportunity for wind sculptures.

The kindergarten has it’s own kids green house on the roof for their seed to table program . The gondola also stops above the market. Behind the market is food waste recycling.

The bread shop and pizza place and ice cream dairy generate heat (and cool for cold pool) which create heat for the spa hot tubs and saunas radiant heat rooms upstairs.

The natural healing medical offices are upstairs. There is a co-operative medical care space for those out of the system. So good that people inside the system supplement their care there.

The banking is above the coffee shop which self roasts (creates waste for bokashi). The roof grows herbs and harvests for tea blends including medicinal read. Medicinals are planted and harvested in the many wild zone 4’s in the area. The wooded areas are also used to grow mushrooms.

The bank offers assistance to everyone – lake Anne dollars are sold here to purchase items on the plaza at a 30% discount. (basically they inflate it 30% )
Resource trading sign up and lake Anne systems consulting for new comers plugs people in where they can be most happy and use their knowledge and creativity to help them and their families thrive. Consultants for job connections not — that is across in the community center.

Again keep in mind this is an experiment in an intimate section of what has become a large very rich city.
Rich but not without harm to others.

Good segway to Baptist church. It is down to 30 members. Might this be also used as a theater space and circus school — tall ceilings. I know it’s crazy . Otherwise the building is of little use unless gutted or who knows. I suggest a conversation to redesign the interior as multi purpose. maintaining as much integrity as possible. Morphing from one use to another. A theater circus practice and show space will bring valuable skills to the plaza (bringing the tailor back, the electrician, the sound guy, riggers, empathetic listeners, physical trainers, buskers, entertainers, waiters, shoppers.

Behind the church is a tot lot which has space to also be a small Shakespeare summer outdoor theater space.

Next — design studio, beneficial real estate and mud ball event sponsor. Roof is personal veggies and chairs.
Tortilla factory: roof peppers and tomatoes and herbs.
Peanut butter picnic palace: salads and bread spread sandwiches. Roof: veggies. Fruit trees.

Chocolate spot: fair trade chocolate : made local :: workshops and education trips to exotic places. Roof greenhouse.

Organic cleaners, maid service green cleaning.and workshops to train residents to clean with healthy products and keep pollutants out of watershed and lake. Roof: sun bleaching whites.

Artisan added value products : felt products, wooden items, herbal balms, essential oils , lotions and beauty products, local jewelry and household items. Resources are grown or free reuse or recycled resources from the community. Roof: herbs and medicinals. Fragrant flowers.

Barber shop; roof: lounge chairs and plants. Mint, oregano — aftershave beard herbals, colendula.

Heron house: somehow utilize. The water falling 15 stories in to energy . There maybe a non window flat wall where the elevator shaft is.

Business building. Roof : wheat Feld. Migratory Bird landing pad without cats.

J building
The nail salon should be a full on beauty place selling bee yummy creams and live healthy high end hand made hand harvested ingredients to keep people resilient.

The bar is local beer wine bourbon and alcohols.all local . Also make it a place to bring newly discovered tastes and keep them in a locker to share at the bar w others and the owner. A connoisseurs hang out.

Bookstore same

Fish seafood– lake fish eventually- aquaponics in the restaurant. Varies the fish.

Clothing consignment

Kids clothing – and baby added value local brands. Working closely with baby and kid pros. Connecting kids to activities and healthy solutions.

Restaurant high end Mediterranean

Furniture and carpentry custom.

Museum Reston history

Pharmacy and drug store
Soda fountain- healthy diner food.

The boat rental generates energy — paddle and peddle power.

The gym creates its own energy– w all the equipment and through the floor.

The lake boats are non polluting moving wind or solar or?? Green roof a d water cleansing phyto remediation islands.

That all!!

Oh the buddhist community living building. Rent discounts for working on the plaza. Lots of terraces and small efficiencies and shared spaces. Community rooms. Top floor is a reading sun room and water catchment. The water when full releases into a waterfall and slide into a giant solar heated hot tub.

Day lighted storm drain brings back stream that pools into a French drain rain garden before going into the earth and under the road to the lake.

All houses apt condos have rain catch systems and roof access opportunity.

Extra:
POOL
I also made a plan for the North Shore Pool
The hill allows for rain cisterns to hold water which allows water to slowly and continually feed new water into the pools so chemicals are not needed. The water drains into the surrounding plants nitrogen adds to plant health– rain garden absorbs water– overflow fill depleted marina in the summer for air conditioning.

Aromatic herbs around the hot tub, grape trellises shade structure at the baby pool. Strawberry banister boxes out of toddler reach . Espalier fruit on the walls kiwi.
Pumpkin and watermelons on the hill for watermelon party’s on the summer.
Surrounded by black berry bushes outside the pool. Nut trees walnuts almonds. Pecans.
The garage roof next door and the showers is green to keep the heat effect down for baby pool.

Now I’m done.
For further details contact me from the contact page.