The Lakes

San Diego, California

OTL Delivers Rejuvenating Natural Waterways and Rockwork Retreat to Luxury Residential Neighborhood in San Diego, California

Imagine meandering along sun-dappled nature trails where coyotes, birds, squirrels, and other wildlife coexist in a functional ecosystem alongside friendly neighbors. Surrounding the trails are majestic trees, babbling boulder-strewn brooks and streams, cascading waterfalls – a relaxing oasis far removed from the stresses and sounds of civilization.

This is the tucked-away paradise OTL has delivered at The Lakes, an affluent single-family residential community in Northern San Diego County, California.

Nestled in the hills of Carmel Valley, east of traffic and noise, The Lakes offers homeowners spacious, high-end custom homes replete with luxurious modern amenities – including an authentic natural retreat designed and crafted by OTL artisans and technicians.

The OTL team also has a unique history with this project – after working with Lennar Corporation in 2008 on the project’s initial phase, OTL was called back by the company in 2019 to complete the outdoor sanctuary during the next phase of development.

Idea

OTL was tasked with delivering a stunning outdoor amenity that would maximize the neighborhood’s immersive natural aspects for residents, seamlessly enhancing the setting so that the manmade changes were completely indistinguishable from the site’s native environment.

The scope of work involved extending an existing series of community streams by 900 lineal feet with over 50 feet of vertical drop along the streamcourse.

During the 2008 phase of the project, OTL’s designers wisely planned for later additions, sizing the pump system and preparing plumbing in a manner that would easily allow these systems to be extended later on as needed.

With ease of maintenance and sustainability in mind, OTL created a sustainable lake and stream system – eliminating the need for chemicals to keep the water clean and clear. Aquatic plantings allow Mother Nature to handle the filtration and water clarification work.

Employing OTL’s signature concept of Geo-Believability®, or geologically realistic rockwork, a total of 150 tons of boulders were trucked to the site, which the team scrupulously shaped and placed into the bodies of water to create splashing and eddies, adding realistic sights and sounds to the environment.

As a final touch, OTL’s talented artists colored and textured the concrete streambed and integrated boulders to fashion a natural-looking mudbank edge along the waterways.

Impact

The Lakes’ trail system, with its gently rippling streams and brooks, breathtaking waterfall, and authentic rockwork, serves as a unique experiential amenity for this luxury community and a welcome respite from the pressures of everyday life.

Through OTL’s expert craftsmanship, seasoned technical expertise and unparalleled artistic vision, the team has delivered a one-of-a-kind outdoor feature for this new neighborhood that residents will return to time and again.