When Absolute Landscapes took on the project now known as The Quarry, they were transforming an entire property, navigating a logistically complex build, and creating something truly award-worthy.
The Quarry project took home the Segmental Concrete Pavement – Residential – Less than 3,000 sq ft award at the 2025 Hardscape North America Awards. The story behind this project is a lesson in the kind of vision, craftsmanship, and project management that can turn a space into an opportunity and a client into a long-term partner.
A Backyard Renovation with No Room for Error
The homeowners came to Absolute Landscapes with just two major constraints. The existing pool would stay and the final project had to be completed by a May graduation party. Everything else was fair game.
The goal was a complete aesthetic overhaul, modernizing the property while creating distinct, multi-season spaces that were functional and beautiful.
For Matt Sabine, President of Absolute Landscapes, the first design question wasn’t about materials or layout. It was about what already existed. Sitting just beyond the property line was a natural quarry, a body of water that gave the project its name and quietly shaped every design decision that followed.
“How do we preserve the views that extend past their property?” Sabine said.
The quarry became an asset to design toward. Getting that framing right early set the tone for everything else.
The result is a multi-level backyard that creates accessible, functional spaces visible and enjoyable from multiple vantage points.
Intentional Contrast
Large-format interlocking concrete pavers wrap the entire pool deck, creating the project’s foundational surface. But rather than carry that material throughout, the team made a deliberate shift at the covered fireplace area near the pool, choosing irregular flagstone instead.
“We went with a different product, not an interlocking concrete paver, but we did go with an irregular shaped stone,” Sabine said. “There was going to be a high amount of contrast that went with the pool deck. And because the pool deck had so much square footage, we wanted it to be unique.”
From there, a natural stone staircase descends to a lower level where a wood-burning fireplace is anchored by boulders. Paver patterns shift and alternate throughout the space, creating movement and visual interest that reads well whether you’re standing at pool level or looking down from the second-story deck overhead.
Interlocking pavers harmonize with composite decking, natural stone boulders, and stone steps, creating seamless transitions between surfaces. The thoughtful material selection unifies the backyard rather than fragmenting it.
“We used multiple different types of material intentionally,” Sabine said, “but we were able to bring everything together harmoniously and just try to pull different textures, different styles, where they could all fit together versus having one specific material used throughout the entire property.”
Managing the Complex Build
If the design was a creative challenge, the build was a logistical one. The property had a single access point. The project required extensive demolition with all existing concrete around the pool deck removed. Multiple contractors had to share the space and carefully sequence their work. And there was that firm deadline.
Sabine’s team started in November.
“We positioned the customer with the benefit of starting in the late fall, after the pool was closed down, to give us the maximum amount of opportunity and working days,” he said. Starting in the off-season bought them the cushion they needed to absorb winter delays without sacrificing the spring deadline.
While Absolute Landscapes was working on the hardscaping, a carpentry contractor was simultaneously building a new deck and overhead structure above the patio space, meaning the two scopes had to be designed and executed in concert.
Coordination between contractors was managed through relentless communication and a clearly articulated plan. For a project of this complexity, there was no room for ambiguity about sequencing or scope.
“We drove the process to give an understanding of here’s how we perceive the project to go, and here are the critical points on why we need to do certain aspects now,” Sabine said.
Sabine said Absolute Landscape’s ability to execute on complex logistical projects like The Quarry are what set the company apart.
“We’re able to bring everything together and we were able to work flawlessly with another company that they had already chosen to do the carpentry work,” he said. “We work well with others. We are very solution oriented. And we are a trusted partner for the client vs. someone that they have to manage. We manage the project for them.”
Designing Through Construction
But even the best-planned project will encounter the unexpected. On The Quarry, the lower-level wood-burning fire pit area wasn’t in the original design at all. It emerged mid-construction, when excavation revealed an opportunity the client hadn’t initially imagined.
Rather than defer it to a future project, Absolute Landscapes listened to the client, created a new design, executed a change order, and built it, all while the rest of the project was actively underway.
“You need to have your designer involved more than you think you need to after the project has started,” Sabine said, “because there will be things that will change.”
They also realized during construction that there was a need to upgrade the outdoor stereo system and the landscape lighting. Each addition required underground wiring and conduit to be run at precisely the right moment in the construction sequence.
“You have to think well beyond the project that you’re in,” Sabine said. “Conduit lines underneath a major hardscape is critical for any future access.”
Advice for Aspiring Hardscapers
Sabine wants the next generation of hardscapers to understand that the client relationship matters as much as the craftsmanship.
When The Quarry won at the 2025 HNA Awards, Sabine reflected not on the technical achievement but on the human one. He remembered walking the property with the clients during the photo shoot of the final and seeing their excitement.
“It was heartwarming that we were able to share in this experience together from start to finish,” he said. “They made every single bit of this, every late night, early morning, every weekend well worth it.”
What started as a backyard renovation has also become a lasting partnership. Absolute Landscapes still maintains the property today and has continued working with the same homeowners on new projects.
“It’s never about a transaction for us,” Sabine said. “It’s always about how can we be a long-term partner with the client.”
Sabine hopes aspiring and early-career hardscapers can learn from an award-winning project like The Quarry.
“I hope that it’s going to inspire someone to see beyond what they can look at today,” he said. “You can look at any property and see the opportunity past what you see today. Every property, no matter how old or new it is, has a tremendous amount of opportunity.”
That kind of vision is cultivated over time. Aspiring hardscapers should gain an understanding of what a backyard can become and learn that the constraints of a project are often what make designs interesting rather than what hold them back.
“When you see different projects like this, then you can actually see that for the next property that you might visit,” Sabine said. “Hopefully you can be inspired to see beyond what’s there today and see the possibility that you can share with a homeowner and change their whole outdoor experience.”
