Landscape Architecture

Riverside Drive Roundabouts

Georgia Department of Transportation

In 2016, the Collaborative took on a unique challenge in Sandy Springs, Georgia. Two new roundabouts at the interchange of I-285 and Riverside Drive were in need of landscaping to capture the salient qualities of the nearby Chattahoochee River. The Collaborative created a design that successfully mirrored the best features of the 434-mile-long Chattahoochee River which rises high in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia and flows southwesterly toward the Alabama state line. The Chattahoochee River Basin is inhabited by about 24 species of freshwater aquatic turtles, about 37 species of salamanders and sirens, about 30 species of frogs and toads, and the American alligator. It is also home to 9 state threatened or endangered plant species.

Low blue metal panels and grey-blue fescue grass recall the flowing river. Brown stones, along with green shrubs and trees mark the shoreline. Street pavers and stone walls visually connect the flowing course of the river across both circles.