Landon Bay East
A residential enclave of scenic estate lots in the
Thousand Islands region of Eastern Ontario
About Designer / Developer, Brad Johnson,
Landscape Architect
Link to Brad Johnson's
web site. More about: Landon
Bay East
Toronto born
graduate of the Universities of Illinois and Harvard's Graduate School of Design,
Brad Johnson is the first landscape architect to be made Academician of the
Royal Canadian Academy of Art. He is past President of the Canadian Society
of Landscape Architects, and has been listed in the Canadian Who's Who since
1981. During nearly 40 years of professional practise, Johnson has been a principal
designer and planner for major projects throughout the country. These include
master plans for municipal, provincial and national parks and conservation areas,
design of waterfront projects such as Humber Bay in Toronto, site designs including
the original master plan for the Metro Toronto Zoo and numerous urban design
projects. Recent work, among many other projects, includes co-authorship of
a long range development strategy for a new 20,000 student university and a
master Plan for Lemoine Point Conservation Area in Kingston, Ontario. Current
projects include the rejuvenation of the historic Market Square in Kingston
and the design of a central portion of Windsor's waterfront.
Part of his background includes work on behalf of developers
as well as municipalities in the design of residential developments and new
communities in Ontario, Alberta and Texas.
Link to Brad Johnson's web site.
“For many years I have designed projects for both public and private
clients. Too many of those hundreds of projects have involved compromise
led by the interests of the bean counters, or committee decisions serving
disparate agendas. All too often the very qualities that made a site wonderful,
were destroyed by this process of compromise. "Forest Lakes",
"Rolling Hills" "Pine Haven" described the pre-bulldozer
site qualities.
I decided that the way for me to avoid
being compromised by others was to become my own "client".
We set up a small family company, Wild Apple Properties, to create
a residential development on land in the 1000 Islands, owned
by my family for over 40 years. It is the only project I am aware
of in Canada in which the developer is a landscape architect.
Landon Bay East has been an earnest
attempt at sustainable development in which the common approach
of squeezing out the maximum number of lots was discarded in
favour of protecting the natural values of the site. Lots are
not stamped on a plan based on a rigid formula and size but instead
defined by natural features. That's why our properties range
in size from about 2 acres to over 13 acres. They all have covenants
to protect landscape, wildlife habitat and views. In addition,
working with the Ministry of Natural Resources, we set aside
over 45% of the land as a private nature preserve. And of course
we're very fortunate that beyond our own nature preserve the
lands are protected as well. No development will ever mar the
views from our properties.
Its been very heartening that our property purchasers seem
to appreciate the concept of integrating well with the landscape and are
eager to be a part of the process. This may explain why so many have chosen
to use architects to help them take the very best advantage of these sites.
This landscape presents wonderful opportunities for creative design but
at the same time the very nature of the sites offers challenges too. I enjoy
working with both owners and their architects or builders to help with getting
the most out of this landscape. It is very satisfying to see dreams taking
shape that are integrated into the landscape -- not just being imposed on
it.”
-- Brad Johnson
For more inforrmation about Brad Johnson, or Landon Bay
East, please call: (905) 797.2725