Contemporary Gardens

Contemporary Landscaped Garden

Designed by Lynne Marcus & constructed by The Garden Builders

Contemporary Landscaped Garden

This rear garden offered a sophisticated, contemporary outdoor environment to complement the redevelopment of the property. The expansive space was transformed into a chic, stylish series of tiers that provided access from the new house level to the main lawn. The design took into consideration existing trees and boundary complications to achieve a stunning combination of hard and soft landscaping. We needed a thorough understanding of the environment and the design to successfully interpret the levels according to the existing landscape.

The main terrace was built over the large basement pool room necessitating constant coordination with the main building contractor and architect for structural and water-proofing considerations.

Careful consideration was also given to the selection of the terrace materials. The client finally settled on Minster Stone, the leading supplier of architectural pre-cast stone. The elegant feature main steps were made from large expanses of the stone, accentuated with bull-nose edging and drip grooves. We cultivated a close relationship with the designers to achieve the specific dimensions and characteristics required for the stone features. We worked with the designers in crafting the stone columns for the upper terrace pergola, which required intricate detailing. The stone columns weighed more than 1,500 kg each and were more than 3,700 mm long. They had chamfered 3d corners and had metal anchoring underground as well as fixing points on top of the columns.

Cornish Delabble slate, meanwhile, was selected for the wet wall of the water feature, providing contrast texture and material. The stone was handcrafted to a smooth and natural surface, allowing a dramatic drop for the water down the face of the stone.

Drainage for both the lawn and planting area became a particular challenge because of the nature of the local soil. We designed a complicated land drainage pipework for both areas featuring their own dedicated soak away collection points to reduce standing water accumulating in the lawn and planting areas. A local irrigation specialist from London helped us design and implement a full irrigation system.

We designed an LED lighting scheme to provide attractive lighting effects for both the natural and man-made elements of the garden, especially sought for the client's frequent entertaining for both business and leisure.

We worked closely with garden designer Lynne Marcus to ensure that proper planting schedules are followed, and that planting occurs at the correct times for both the plants and the associated landscape works.

This project entailed close coordination with other contractors during the redevelopment. Many construction and coordination challenges were posed by the redevelopment, in particular the need to work out smooth work flows with the main contractor to enable the entire redevelopment to proceed as planned. This often required us to alternate with the main contractor on-site to complete phases of the construction. In addition, the access wall was very tight, and we had to share access to the garden with the local golf club. We had to make arrangements in advance for all major deliveries to ensure minimal disruption to the club's operations.
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