"landscaping"

Pura® NFC by Trespa brings Pure Delight to Major Shopping CentreWhen the largest factory outlet shopping centre in the North East of England was given a makeover, Pura® NFC by Trespa secured a prominent role in providing the 70-plus retail premises with a fresh, modern appeal to customers.The £3million refurbishment, that included paving, lighting, landscaping and furniture in addition to shop front treatment, was given the go-ahead in 2017. And, says centre manager Jerry Hatch, ‘the overall impact and impression made by Pura® NFC siding was the stand out part of the finished article.”

Exceptional homes in the perfect location St Elphin’s Park retirement village is set within 14 acres of landscaped grounds, located within the Derbyshire Dales. The centrepiece building, St Elphin’s House, started life as a private residence, becoming an exclusive spa in the 19th century, and latterly, a well-known girls’ boarding school, St Elphin’s Girls School. This Victorian schoolhouse has been restored stone by stone. Surrounding the Victorian grandeur of St Elphin's House, and built to echo the appeal of a traditional Derbyshire hamlet, are attractively designed retirement properties including apartments, cottages and mews cottages.

Designed by Page and Park, this £21 Million project involved refurbishing the existing atrium space and constructing a stunning new 3000 sq.m. three-story building.  Inspiration was taken from the stunning location on loch Airthrey. Blending seamlessly into the landscape, the exterior features granite rainscreen, grey stone cladding and Senior’s SF52 curtain walling, chosen for its elegant slim sightlines and enhanced thermal performance.  Sustainability was further enhanced by installation of Senior’s patented ultra thermally efficient PURe® windows with an innovative thermal break, and robust SPW501 Doors, certified to PAS24 and Secured by Design standards. 

The £440m redevelopment of Westgate Oxford shopping centre, Furnitubes designers worked with landscape architects LDA Design to develop a series of planting and seating solutions for the rooftop terraces, designed around a kitchen garden concept and creating a series of unique outdoor spaces for 12 bars and restaurants and offering impressive views of the Oxford skyline and the countryside beyond. Themed areas include the sinuous Crinkle Crankle, a Vegetable Garden and the more formal Garden Court as well as the Kitchen Garden itself. Planters were manufactured predominantly in steel, some with additional timber cladding, others with integrated seating and lighting.

Brick manufacturer Vandersanden is expanding its Texture Generator with paver textures for garden and landscape projects. This allows professionals and consumers to render their designs in a detailed and lifelike way. These designs can also be integrated into the CAD programme Vectorworks. Integration with other common software packages for architects is in development. "At Vandersanden, we are constantly pushing for innovation and the digitisation of our offering. This major expansion of the Texture Generator fits in seamlessly with that," said Bart Hesen, Paving Marketing Manager at Vandersanden.Following the launch of the texture generator for facing bricks and brick slips, an online tool to design facades, Vandersanden is now expanding it to include its range of clay pavers for garden and landscape projects. So now the texture generator also visualises paving for gardens and public spaces in a lifelike way and allows users to design and download their own textures. This allows garden and landscape architects, project managers at municipalities, garden contractors and private individuals to imagine the end result in a lifelike way.More than 1.1 million lifelike combinationsAmong other things, users can experiment with formats and laying patterns in the online tool. In addition, they can mix colours themselves to create their own unique colour mix. This possibility is especially valuable for architects.The paver’s textures visualise public spaces or gardens in a lifelike way and help both professionals and consumers make aesthetic choices. After all, there are more than 1.1 million possible combinations at Vandersanden, all of which are available in the texture generator. The texture obtained is also infinitely scalable, with minimal repetition of patterns.Thanks to digital innovation, the brick manufacturer succeeds in making all combinations look lifelike: all pavers are scanned in 3D for this purpose, and lighting is added afterwards.Faster and more efficientThe texture generator works quickly, easily and intuitively. Afterwards, users can also download the creations, including exposure folders (including Albedo, Alpha and Diffuse) and technical specifications, allowing them to integrate the creations into their own design or 3D model."Knowledge sharing, inspiration and convenience for customers are central to us. The digitisation of our offering is indispensable in this respect. With the expansion of our texture generator for the paving of public spaces and gardens, we are taking another step forward on the digital front. We strive for the most realistic representation of our products in 3D visuals," says Bart Hesen, Paving Marketing Manager at Vandersanden.Vandersanden also enables the integration of its texture generator for facades and paving in the most common software packages for architects. This has already been done in the Vectorworks CAD programme; integrations with Archicad and Revit are under development.Try the Vandersanden texture generator here Texture generator | Vandersanden

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is the greatest horticultural event. It is known all around the world for its fabulous floral displays, thought provoking and beautifully landscaped show gardens and for nurturing gardening trends and talent.Held in the most beautiful grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is guaranteed to inspire and wow everyone who visits.One such garden is the RBC Brewin Dolphin Garden designed by one of House & Gardens Top 50 Garden Designers of 2023, Paul Hervey-Brookes. This stunning Silver-Gilt show garden ‘draws creative inspiration from the way knowledge is passed down from generation to generation and interpreted for the modern world.’To assist with the longevity and sustainable features of this garden, landscaping expert and garden consultant, G K Wilson Landscapes, opted to use UltraScape eco-bed environmentally friendly bedding mortar and slipbond brick slip adhesive to install the beautiful Lunar Sand pavers and Dover Taupe porcelain wall tiles. For the finishing flourish, the paving was grouted using UltraTile ProGrout Flexible in Bahama Beige and Grey.In a Chelsea Flower Show first, garden designer and RHS ambassador for inclusivity and diversity, Manoj Malde married his partner in his own magnificently designed RHS and Eastern Eye Garden of Unity feature garden. This powerful and vibrant garden is inspired by Manoj’s Indian heritage and has inclusivity and sustainability at its heart. Alongside peat-free planting, the garden also embraced the use of reclaimed materials to create the limestone path and used UltraScape eco-bed environmentally friendly bedding mortar to install the limestone paving.Two further award-winning gardens to benefit from Instarmac’s expertise are Darren Hawkes’ Silver-Gilt Samaritan’s Listening Garden and Emma Tipping’s Gold Medal St George ‘Alight Gere’ Balcony Garden.UltraScape were honoured to have supported, and sponsored, each of these beautiful gardens.UltraScape has been manufacturing and providing the industry with high quality, specialist paving installation materials for over 25 years. Their proven and trusted range includes BS 7533 complaint bedding mortars, primers, jointing solutions and brick slip adhesive. UltraScape’s premium products are specified by contractors, architects, consultants and engineers for an ever-expanding portfolio of major schemes across the UK.Choose UltraScape’s proven and certified BS 7533 Mortar Paving System for the performance and assurance that comes with a UKAS seal of approval – you can’t afford not to!To find out more about UltraScape’s range of paving installation materials, please email ultrascape@instarmac.co.uk, visit ultrascape.co.uk or call their team of experts by ringing +44 (0) 1827 254402.

LKAB Minerals is pleased to supply Gypsol on one of Vistry Partnerships' most challenging projects in London.Brunel Street Works is one of the largest regeneration sites in London, Canning Town, E16. This exciting new urban development is helping support and attract new homeowners and revitalise a disused site in Canning Town. The site is close to major rail links, a short walk to Canary Wharf and to London City Airport. In addition to the strong transport links, the apartments offer stunning views of the city landscape, including the O2  Arena. The development project in total consists of 996 apartments and a Premier Inn Hotel over 5 Blocks.

Demanding Regulation standards and the sheer scale of a residential housing project like East London's New Garden Quarter, have seen us here at TECHNAL and installer Ravenworth work together to deliver the £4.2m scope of work for Telford Homes. This includes windows, patio and entrance doors as well as curtain walling. New Garden Quarter is part of a masterplan development and takes in some of the Olympic Legacy land in Stratford. The development, which sits next to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, features one, two and three-bedroom apartments, villas and sky villas set around a landscaped two-acre garden square.

Throughout its 600-year history it’s doubtful that Crossbasket Castle in Scotland catered for mobility compromised people – until a recent £9m investment and a Stannah Midilift SL platform lift transformed it into a luxury hotel, restaurant and events venue, accessible to everyone. Set in 14 acres of landscaped gardens on the banks of Rotten Calder Water in High Blantyre, Lanarkshire, Crossbasket Castle offers eight bedrooms, including a 4-floor honeymoon suite, the Albert and Michel Roux Jnr Restaurant, and the Roosevelt Grand Hall, a medieval-style, new-build banqueting/ballroom facility, and home to the Midilift SL access lift.

The designer obtained consent under the latest SuDS regulations in the densely build area of London. Restriction on outflow rates to sewers demanded high attenuation. The original design for stormwater attenuation involved discharging tanks under the ground. This was expensive and took up valuable space, an alternative was required. ABG proposed their Blueroof system which could be installed directly on to the hot melt waterproofing system allowing various surface finishes. Due to height limitations a cascade system was used. Various roof finishes included paved access, landscaped areas and bio diverse to attract wildlife. This increased the potential for BREEAM points.

The headquarters of companies are usually established in city centres close to important transport links. The natural landscape and the wide horizon perspective are not usually associated with office buildings. Press Glass’s ambition was to create a modern headquarters on a green plateau, which would express the dynamic nature of the company and, at the same time, provide employees with contact with nature.The award winning project was developed with large glass panes around the building and elements of curved glass all framed using Aluprof's MB-SR50N EFEKT capless curtain walling, MB86 windows and doors and MB-77HS lift and slide door systems.Architect: Konior Studio

Beech Hill View is a residential development which can be found 10 minutes from Derry/Londonderry’s City Centre on the Glenshane Road.This high-quality development sought to create a top-class range of modern, sustainable and aesthetically pleasing semi-detached and detached houses situated on a thoughtfully landscaped site. Over 170 houses and more than 150,000 facing bricks supplied, Woodward surpasses the industry standard by adding a unique aesthetic as well as improved buildability and stability.The striking colour of Woodward’s Oldtown Multi Antique chosen by ADP Architects Ltd ensures a classical touch matched with modern style.

Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council headed the plans to regenerate Bedlinog Square in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, in 2015. The construction contract for the £300,000 project, which was part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government, was awarded to Alun Griffiths. As a public realm initiative, the choice of hard landscaping materials was a significant factor in achieving the aesthetics envisioned for the scheme. Already familiar with the quality paving and walling range available at Tobermore, Alun Griffiths had trust in Tobermore products. The contractor was not disappointed as Tobermore provided a full paving, kerb and step solution that created an attractive, modern new look at Bedlinog Square.

The Living Concrete team were commissioned to design and create large format, precast GRC floating garden steps at a private residence in Oxted. Working closely with the client, we constructed a cascade of floating steps to create seamless access on what was quite a difficult tiered site. Having assessed all the practical and logistical issues, we worked out a tight 10 week schedule of measuring, landscaping, pre-cast and on-site installation of all the elements.This project had many challenges in its design and execution and covered a large external area on different levels incorporating very heavy concrete elements – creating this stunning feature.

Beauty & Heritage - Marley’s Hawkins Fired Sienna clay plain roof tile, the perfect specification choice for a new development in Warwickshire. Properties had to fit seamlessly into the surrounding landscape, while also meeting strict planning regulations. Keith Greenall, MD for Greenall Construction, “The mock Tudor architectural style, incorporating natural materials meant we wanted to find a roofing solution in keeping with the look we had established. “The development required a clay tile perfectly matching the aesthetics within the village & the planning committee were happy the clay material suited the ambience & style of the development & local area.”

The new site comprises a 20-cell custody suite and a three-storey office building, which accommodates more than 300 officers and staff and provides both Northamptonshire Police and Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service, which shares the office building, with modern, 21st century facilities. Marshalls provided a range of products from the Landscape Protection portfolio for the exterior space, including Geo bollards, Geo seating, a Pluto cycle shelter and bespoke concrete planters. Due to the security required around this sensitive building it was important that the items of furniture specified had the required protection against potential accidental or criminal damage ...

he Great Blakenham incinerator plant is a joint initiative between Suffolk County Council and waste management company SITA UK. This energy-from-waste facility uses the household and business waste left after recycling, burning materials which would otherwise go to landfill, and generates enough electricity to power 30,000 homes. Although operations carried out at the plant are largely industrial, the appearance of the building itself including the suspended, glass fronted office section required hard landscaping to increase overall aesthetics, as well as providing a SuDS solution to ensure safe and practical surface water removal in the car parking areas...

An important consideration in the design of the new £20 Million sports centre was the site’s location in the stunning landscape around Airthrey Loch.To minimise environmental impact and make the most of the views, Faulkner Browns Architects proposed a 3-level building with extensive glazing. The eye-catching design features Senior’s SF52 thermally enhanced aluminium curtain walling to three elevations integrated with SPW600 windows and SP501 commercial doors for secure access.The new facilities have cemented Stirling’s status as Scotland’s top university for sporting excellence and are now enjoyed by Olympic athletes, students and the local community.  ‘photography credit Keith Hunter’.

Normandy Bin Bays manufactured from recycled plastic; encouraging recycling and keeping communal bin bay areas tidy. A win-win for Stoke City Housing.GOplastic Ltd were contacted by Ruth Smith the former Landscape Architect for the Landscape Team at City of Stoke-on-Trent Council to look into a solution for their communal bin bay areas.Ruth was considering specifying our Normandy Bin Bay system for the Mier Estate neighbourhood project which is located to the south east of the North Staffordshire conurbation.There are many solutions for bin bay storage using brickwork, timber and recycled plastic. Recycled plastic bin bays have many advantages. They are supplied fully assembled and ready to install. No labour intensive brick work, no holes excavated for posts, and no maintenance plans are required after installation. The panels won’t rot or splinter and are very easily cleaned. At site meetings anchorage options were discussed to ensure that the bin bays could be fitted onto hard standing or into the ground with extended posts if required. The bin bays at 1.5 metres high allow for 240 litre household wheelie bins to be used, and the 1.8m high panels for larger 1100 litre bins if required.For communal storage adjacent to apartment buildings, this recycled plastic bin bay solution provided open storage for a number of bins. The open top design with louvred slats allow for dissipation of odours and are aesthetically pleasing.Contractor: Stoke-on-Trent City CouncilJob type: Supply onlyProject Value: Approximately £50KWaste plastic prevented from potential landfill: 18 tonnes.

A new family-run hotel in Iceland’s Haukadalur Valley was designed to sit seamlessly within the extraordinary surrounding landscape. Hotel Geysir operates under carefully considered environmental objectives, including resource management, reduction of waste, increased recycling, and selecting products and services with a low environmental impact. Our popular Twin Herringbone flooring in Black Oak forms the perfect backdrop to the interior, which is as dramatic as the natural landscape surrounding the hotel. All rooms and suites have large windows to make the stunning scenery the main feature throughout the hotel. The building was designed by architect Brynhildur Sólveigardóttir, and interior design by Leifur Welding. Made from Junckers’ classic two-stave flooring, each floorboard consists of two rows of staves, one full-length and one with two half-length staves. This gives Twin Herringbone an authentic pattern and elegant. Delivered with a hardwearing factory finished surface ready to walk on as soon as it is installed, a Twin Herringbone floor has the advantage of saving on costly and time-consuming installation work as the floor does not have to be sanded, filled, and treated after installation. A pre-finished floor is far superior in terms of durability with optimal wear resistance and a uniform appearance. It also has a significantly shorter installation time compared to an unfinished floor, with minimal inconvenience. Each Twin Herringbone stave measures 129mm wide x 516.6mm long x 14 or 22mm thick. II is ideal for use in all rooms of the house except bathrooms and can be used with all major underfloor heating systems. Twin Herringbone feels warm and solid underfoot, the perfect backdrop to a luxurious hotel. 

LDA Design specified WoodBlocX Landscaping to provide the raised planters and seating for the courtyard areas of its Westpoint Homes project; One Hyndland Avenue, a development comprising of 63 luxury apartments with beautifully landscaped outdoor spaces in Glasgow’s West End.The design LDA created for the development featured a series of open paved spaces, ample seating and pergolas to add height, with large angular raised planters with integrated seating bordering the perimeters of the site to plant trees, shrubs and plants.Following a consultation with LDA on potential solutions, the WoodBlocX design team took the initial plans and recreated the original footprint using CAD designs of the modular timber blocks. Thanks to the versatility of the system WoodBlocX were able to match the design almost identically, incorporating the shapes and angles of the original outline.WoodBlocX supplied all materials directly to the Westpoint Homes’ site and the structures were assembled by their own teams. The space for materials on site was tight and the size of the planters meant that a large quantity of materials were delivered. WoodBlocX components arrive on site neatly palletised and the individual lightweight pieces are easy to access and manoeuvre when needed.All WoodBlocX structures are built in the same way using a series of light weight blocks which have been pre-drilled and then treated to provide superior strength - there is no waste or cutting needed.With all projects challenges can arise during the build, in this case some onsite changes were required due to manholes and water access getting in the way of original design. Our team swiftly redesigned instructions and supplied suitable components to match the change.

ISG has reached a key construction milestone at its £66+ million Exhibition Centre Liverpool and Pullman hotel development. The Exhibition Centre Liverpool has more than doubled the existing 7,125 sqm capacity at ACC Liverpool to 15,225 sq m of flexible exhibition space.The regeneration of this development has linked to the existing arena and convention centre, making the building the only purpose-built arena, convention and exhibition centre in Europe. Architects Denton Corker have created a striking off-set, rectangular ‘tube’ design for the new concrete frame hotel, looking out over the stunning vista across the River Mersey and the city’s UNESCO World Heritage site.In order to complement the striking architecture, Marshalls was approached to supply the new Modal paving, part of the internationally recognised La Linia range. The broad range of tones and plan sizes meant eye-catching patterns and blends could be employed around the contemporary new building to great effect.A range of other Marshalls products including the contemporary Conservation paving, kerbs and steps were also used to complement the areas around the scheme and help create this striking landscaped area.The new Exhibition Centre has helped to secure Liverpool’s place as one of the top visitor destinations in the UK. This great new facility has become the jewel in Liverpool’s expo crown and has further enhanced the city’s global events and conference reputation.The stunning landscaped areas around the architecture has helped to create an impressive, integrated, cohesive scheme that has created a truly creative visual impact.

Olympus House is a collection of one and two bedroom apartments, part of the award winning Old Railway Quarter that was a redevelopment on the site of the former Great Western Railway works. This location has multiple amenities on the doorstep such as shopping at the nearby outlet centre, restaurants, and landscaped gardens.Cellecta’s YELOfon HD10+ was specified due to the system being lightweight, easy to install, and delivers unrivalled acoustic performance when used to isolate a floating screed from a structural concrete floor. YELOfon HD10+ is an acclaimed resilient layer system that carries 3 proprietary Robust Details: E-FC-5, 17 & 18.Thomas Homes was awarded this 5,000m² contract for this development in West Swindon.

ASF were approached to manufacture and supply a quayside post and rail system for the old docks on Birkenhead, as part of a regeneration project. The client didn't want the traditional curved cast iron post option, nor the usual version of the same but in stainless steel.ASF worked with the client to agree a design that combines a robust steel panel, bolt fixed to the dockside with a large diameter stainless steel handrail on top. Sections were both straight and curved and panels were bespoke manufactured for each section of the dock.The outcome is a striking, cranked quayside panel system that has the clean straight lines of a contemporary product but still works remarkably well in this regenerated industrial landscape

EverEdge ProEdge was used to create borders, pathways and to provide an edge between lawn and driveway at this property in Chailey, Sussex. The 100mm deep ProEdge border addition, with perfectly straight edges and perfect right angles, frames the house and will keep neat lines for years to come. Lengthy pathways installed from drive to patio and then patio through to established gardens keeping gravel and grass separate.ProEdge was chosen because of its thickness (2.5mm steel) and length (2.5m) as this was a large install on varying ground. Install was carried out by J Sutton Landscapes who said they were “very impressed with the product and plan to use it in several upcoming projects”Pleasing to hear and pleasing to see pictures of a great install.

BCM are proud to have supplied GRC to the prestigious Berkeley: St George London Dock development in Wapping, London.The development comprises 1,800 high-end new homes and spans seven-and-a-half acres of landscaped open spaces.BCM started with the supply of Block C1 in 2019, providing the GRC components of the 26-storey tower, which featured approximately 4,000m2 of GRC on its façade. We went on to supply an additional 1,200m2 to Blocks C2 and C3, with manufacture commencing on those blocks in 2020.As of early 2024, we're currently in the process of manufacturing GRC panels for Block F, with discussions in place for our continued supply of material to the development, and the project's next phase, Block G.

Chichester Free School opened in 2013, holding 1,280 students aged 4–19. Located in Chichester, West Sussex, the school was damaged in a fire in 2009; this led to demolition and a part refurbishment of the former Carmelite convent. It includes a 600m² sports hall, a 250m² hall, dedicated music and performance spaces, multi-use games facilities and external landscaping.Cellecta YELOfon HD10+ was specified by Hunters South Architects for this development for its acclaimed resilient layer, which isolates floating screed from the structural concrete floor. YELOfon HD10+ has superior impact sound-deadening properties, is lightweight and is easy to handle and install.This 6,500m² development was awarded to Farrans to restore the school at £26.5 million.

It’s no wonder that our Raj Green Indian Sandstone is one of our most popular stones, when it can be used in so many different ways. This project in Oxfordshire used Raj Green to echo the traditional countryside nature of the property. Raj Green is a very hard wearing stone, with similar colours and tones to York stone, which is why this stone is so popular. This project required a large quantity of Raj Green stone, to create a vast patio area at the back of this country home, as well as paved areas around the garage, and several paths surrounding the garden. Raj Green is such a popular product, as it is perfect for any home, garden or landscaping project. It is versatile and timeless, and will look at home anywhere.

Maple created a ‘living wall’ installation with decorative architectural panels to transform Glasgow Fort Shopping Centre’s new 601-space multi-storey car park.We partnered with contractor McLaughlin & Harvey and architect Cooper Cromar to bring this impressive five-floor development to life.Maple created and installed a ‘living art’ façade for the new car park, comprising a curved timber-clad steel enclosure, inspired by nature and supported by stunning landscaping and boardwalk frontage.To construct this challenging feature façade, we worked with a range of sustainable materials, including 700m2 of Corten steel cladding, 1,100m2 of vertical timber fins, and 1,200m2 of curved timber fins spanning 75m.

Berkeley, Halo and Lustre Modular Furniture, 2024The team at The Berkeley Group, chose the Lustre and Halo modular washbasin units and basins from our modular furniture collection, alongside complimentary products for the main bathroom and ensuite one rooms.Highcroft offers a beautiful range of homes for all generations inspired by traditional architecture and complemented by modern interior design.Expansive green open spaces are carefully crafted throughout the development with village ponds and beautiful landscaping. All of this only a short walk from the historic market town of Wallingford and the River Thames in South Oxfordshire.From 1 bedroom apartments to 5 bedroom houses plus bungalows, Highcroft offers a home for every lifestyle.

Knolehurst House is a modern example of residential architecture by Charlton Brown Architects. The house is located on Bishop’s Avenue in London and sits on a sloping site surrounded by trees. The architects have designed the house to blend seamlessly into the landscape, using a combination of natural materials and a simple, clean aesthetic.The house is arranged over three floors, with the main living spaces on the top floor to take advantage of the views. A requirement of the owners was for the interior of the house to be spacious and light-filled, with large windows and an open-plan layout.The architects paid great attention to detail, with bespoke joinery and carefully selected finishes throughout the house. Freshfield Lanes First Quality Multi’s are used on the project and are visible throughout the renovation.

CHALLENGE Aylesbury Grammar School needed to have their knee rail fencing replaced in the communal areas of the school. The original fencing made of timber had become unsafe and un-secure making it a liability for the children.You often see timber suffer under harsh circumstances such as being faced with weathering in the challenging outdoor environments in school grounds. Aylesbury Grammar School had faced this issue with the timber fencing they had around the school grounds. The fencing had rotted very quickly due to the poor quality preservatives, which have been used in timber since legislation banning the use of oil based preservatives came into effect.Aylesbury Grammar School instructed Buckland Landscapes to replace and upgrade the outdoor areas of the school grounds. They were looking for products that would require little to no maintenance in order to reduce their annual costs. They wanted strong and durable products that would withstand the heavily used areas and maintain a safe environment for the pupils. The products needed to be long lasting and environmentally friendly.SOLUTIONBuckland Landscapes specified ® hanit as the replacement material for Aylesbury Grammar School. ® hanit Ultra knee rail was chosen to create the boundaries within the school grounds. Knee Rail products are UK manufactured ® using the hanit Ultra formulation which is the strongest of all blends. It offers good impact resistance and is used for high quality profiles. This ensured that Aylesbury Grammar School would be provided the durability required to withstand the high use. The surface has the appearance of timber with a consistent colouring and as the products are weather and rot resistant it will remain aesthetically pleasing for many years to come. The safety of the pupils had been put at risk with the previous rotting fencing. Therefore it was made a priority to looking ® for a new material. As hanit does not rot, is weather resistant and has a smooth splinter free finish. These qualities also ensure the reduction in maintenance costs as ® hanit products require no treatment or maintenance.Aylesbury Grammar School were keen to use a more sustainable product in their school grounds, therefore the environmental ® benefits of hanit made it the perfect choice. Made from 100% recycled plastic it is possible to show the students the benefits of recycling and what products can be re-worked from material that would previously have been a burden on the environment and gone to landfill. Buckland Landscapes were pleased with the ease of installation and they found ® the handling of hanit just as simple as timber. “We are really pleased with the replacement knee rail fencing. The products look really good and most importantly, they are strong and durable and will not splinter or rot making it un-safe for our pupils. The knee rail fencing is also a sustainable replacement as it is made from recycled plastic.” Headteacher - Aylesbury Grammar School

Opened in September 2014, Solent Enterprise Zone is home to Fareham College’s Centre of Excellence for Engineering, Manufacturing and Advanced Skills Technology (CEMAST) providing training opportunities for 900 students. It also includes the new Fareham innovation centre providing small workshops and office space for start-up and micro businesses on easy-in, easy-out terms.Around this innovative new build, creative use of hard landscaping was required to enhance the site, to develop and identify areas within the perimeter for pedestrian use, to contribute to safety underfoot on flights of steps and around the bicycle shelter areas as well as providing sustainable urban drainage solutions (SuDS) for the approach to the site and within the car park.In the showpiece location at the approach to the college and inside the grounds around the planted beds and seating areas, Pallas and La Linia block paving have been installed. These elegant, high performance combined concrete block and paving ranges use high quality exposed aggregates across Client: Fareham College Contractor: Woodman Civil Engineering & Leadbitter Construction Products Used: Pallas & La Linia Block Paving, Priora Permeable Block Paving, Tegula Block Paving, Keyblok Block Paving, Saxon Paving and Conservation Kerb a broad range of integrated plan sizes to create striking visual effects. La Linia is a subtly textured paving range ideal for pedestrian areas in contemporary civic and retail schemes which is also suitable for occasional vehicular overrun. Pallas successfully combines vivid colour with a highly polished texture designed to accent contemporary architecture and enhance landscapes with a modern feel. Also on the approach to the college and around the bicycle shelters, Marshalls Saxon Textured Flag Paving has been specified. Saxon is blended with a hard Yorkstone aggregate to deliver a unique surface finish, whilst the consistency of the textured surface ensures superb durability and non-slip properties. This paving has also been installed on flights of steps within the development, incorporating tactile flags at the top and the base of the steps together with visibility strips for safety and performance. In areas around the car park, Marshalls Priora has been selected. Priora is Marshalls’ original Concrete Block Permeable Paving (CBPP) system, combining the ever popular aesthetics of Keyblok block paving with a sourcecontrol sustainable urban drainage system (SuDS). Priora brings together excellent aesthetics and flood risk mitigation, removing surface water without the need for additional linear drainage systems.Hard landscaping at Fareham College has successfully enhanced the areas surrounding the buildings as well as contributing towards improving aesthetics within the college grounds and promoting pedestrian safety. Use of Priora within the car parking areas has ensured compliance with local building regulations in terms of the installation of naturally permeable surfaces.

The development of a new emergency care centre at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead was an investment of £32m. The project provided state-of- the-art healthcare services to people across the region. The centre now provides a smoother service to its patients and a more efficient way of treating people.Artform Urban Furniture were asked to provide seating and litter bins to the main entrance of the hospital's drop in centre, as well as the car park and the taxi drop off / pick up point. The products had to complement the soft landscaping whilst also being durable enough to cope with the extensive usage. The Artform team proposed items from the Multiplicity range, with their cast anodised aluminium frames, offering superb longevity and minimal maintenance requirements.The overall project was constructed within a tight budget and the street furniture supplied by Artform needed to be of a very high standard, ergonomically designed for comfort and all delivered within the economic constraints.The products also had to be on site and installed within a short time frame, due to the fast track nature of the project. The Artform team provided full technical drawings and specification information to ensure that the client’s facilities team were supported fully and the installation process was seamless.OutcomeThe completed emergency care centre is now a busy hub for all types of emergency healthcare services and the entrance provides a clean and welcoming first impression to all those using the centre. The landscaped outdoor areas including the entrance, the car park and the busy taxi point, offer an engaging space, for use by staff, patients and visitors alike, with the thoughtful distribution of attractive seating and clean, modern litter bins.Ian Renwick, chief executive of QE Gateshead commented: "This is a unique hospital building and the environment for patients and visitors is really something special."

Artform Urban provide modern and stylish cantilever seating to a new Arts and Humanities facility, at the University of Liverpool. The Yoko Ono Lennon Centre is a newly built teaching and performance building, named in honour of Yoko Ono Lennon, an Honorary Graduate of the University (Hon LLD 2001), campaign ambassador and long-standing philanthropic supporter. It houses the 400 seat Tung Auditorium with space for a 70 piece orchestra, as well as a state of the art 600 seat lecture theatre. Architects and lead designers Ellis Williams worked alongside a number of acoustic and structural engineers in order to achieve optimum acoustic profile and capacity for the orchestra. Artform Urban was appointed by HA Civils to provide seating elements for the landscaped exterior space of the building. The Generation 50 Seat with cantilevered legs was specified for the project due to its minimal and contemporary design that includes a curved timber cladding that echoes that of the main entrance of the building. It is the first installation of Generation 50 in the UK. The Generation 50 range was designed by Robert Chipman and offers a flexible ensemble of style and mounting options.Available with four different cast aluminium powder-coated leg fixing options, a range of armrests and a number of timber options including ipe, jarrah, and thermally modified ash. Providing a perfect addition to complete a range of urban landscapes. The Yoko Ono Lennon Centre will develop a programme of new public-facing cultural highlights including concerts, lectures as well as other events in the University calendar, and will be the new home to the Music Department’s popular Lunchtime Concert Series.Yoko Ono Lennon said:“It gives me great pleasure to know that this centre will serve as a new opportunity for countless future artists and musicians to communicate their work with the local audience in Liverpool, and the world beyond. I can’t wait to see what exciting new work is on its way.” (source)

Aluminium cladding that looks like real timber, quite simply put, but it is actually real timber. Chosen for its natural aesthetic and ultimate fire resistance, Technowood has rapidly become a “go-to” cladding facade for Architects and Designers.Considered as a sheltered social project, the two towers are located on a raised outdoor podium on a scale that doesn’t hide its presence. The well-developed landscaping area, which also serves as a central garden area, also includes a shopping centre with 150 stores and a cinema. It has a gallery space aligned with transparent oriental pools. These transparent pools, which form the centre of Next Level, illuminate the shopping centre with the sunlight breaking through the water, giving its guests a relaxing ambience. The 7500 sq. m of landscaping is a recipe for complete social togetherness. The public and private wellbeing have been transformed into an urban area. This also allows a diverse culture, entertainment, work and socialisation.This newly built-up area has also become a new living space for people adopting a modern lifestyle, where business and social life come together. Furthermore, Next Level is designed as a cutting edge mixed-use project of this area, it reflects the development of the region and this contemporary way of life has been well accepted by its new occupants.The mixed materials manufactured by Technowood is a testimony to the company. As well as its ability to work with the demands of the Architect. By having the expertise to deliver complex shaped materials in the same palette, colour and texture.Technowood is an FSC certified product; it uses only 2% of timber when compared to solid timber facades. It uses even less when compared to solid timber structures.Credits and Further informationArchitect: Brigitte Weber ArchitectsLocation: Ankara, TurkeyProject: Commercial, residential and shopping centreMaterials: Technowood CladdingCompletion: 2013