Contributing to the unique structure of the center is its outdoor surroundings. The shopping mall is comprised of two distinct park areas and FlatIron Crossing's Village -- a 240,000-square-foot streetscaped, outdoor, shopping space, which emulates the feel of the Rocky Mountains. To create this natural setting, over 2,000 tons of large-sized, rough-cut pieces of Masonville Buff sandstone were used in the design of water features and sitting areas, which are predominant throughout the outdoor portion of the shopping center.
The sandstone, which was supplied by Masonville Quarry, was brought to the site in huge truckloads and loaded in a pile, the landscape architect explained. "We were on site every day to put the pieces together like a puzzle," he said. Murase further explained that it was important to balance the technical factors with aesthetic elements, when choosing the placement of the stones. "We had to consider the kind of mood we wanted to create with stone, and then how we wanted the water to interact with the stone," he said. "We wanted it to be that when you are there, it's magical. A place where water comes cascading out of stone features in a dynamic way."