Projects – Landscape Design
Public Sculpture In Bracknell
Our reclaimed tropical Ekki, Greenheart, and Jarrah timber features in this celebrated public sculpture – created by Samuel Zealey and entitled Onyo. The original, striking, and pioneering design was picked by hundreds of people as their favourite piece to adorn the forecourt of the train station as part of the Gateway project, which was run in conjunction with South Hill Park Arts Centre. At it’s unveiling Craig Titley, Chief Executive of South Hill Park, said; “Great art stimulates discussion and debate – today’s addition to the local landscape will become tomorrow’s masterpiece or treasured heritage. The essence behind the piece, its link to Bracknell, the materials used and sense of time and belonging adds to our understanding and enjoyment of the work.”
Whitstable’s storm damaged slipway blooms once-again
Reclaimed tropical timber from Whitstable Yacht Club has taken pride of place in the gold medal winning Facebook Garden at RHS Chelsea 2019, designed by Joe Perkins Design. A central feature of the Beyond the Screen garden is a decked area, suspended over a tranquil pool of water. After visiting our timber yard, celebrated landscape architect Joe Perkins selected the Whitstable timber – reclaimed from the slipway following damage it received during the harsh winter storms of 2018. The RHS Chelsea Flower Show receives over 166,800 visitors each year, and the reclaimed greenheart timber (which was originally imported from Guyana) created the perfect decked area and sea groyne wall – enabling visitors to stop and think about the positive aspects of social media.
https://www.joeperkinsdesign.com/
Photography, credits Natalia Odescalchi
From Pier to Peer
Reclaimed Keruing timber from Southend Pier took pride of place in the Back to Nature Garden at RHS Chelsea 2019 – co-designed by Andrée Davies and Adam White in collaboration with HRH the Duchess of Cambridge. A central feature of the celebrated garden was a woodland walkway, built by carpenter Jonny Briggs, a graduate of the Princes Foundation. After visiting our timber yard in Bulphan he selected timber reclaimed from the pier – attracted to the beautiful character, created by the hundreds of thousands of visitors who’ve treaded the boards since the timber was installed on the pier in the 1980s. The garden, including the reclaimed walkway, will now be displayed at RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival (2-7 July 2019) before moving onto RHS Garden Wisely in Surrey, which will open in the autumn.
Kilbees’s Farm
Murdoch Wickham, one of the leading Landscape Architectural companies in the UK, approached us to supply the material for this exclusive project. They had designed this beautiful boat house/garden room and deck area, specifying the use of reclaimed timber; the effect is outstanding. To achieve this look John Murdoch insisted that every piece of timber must not have any clean, sawn edges. This structure was built using Oak that was once Groyne timbers on Bracklesham Bay on the South coast. The structure blends into its environment beautifully, instantly looking like it is part of the history of the grounds; enhanced by the spectacular planting scheme.
Cook Piling: Bourne End
This stunning project is a great example of how reclaimed sea defence timbers can be re-sawn and prepared into decking and cladding. Cook Piling already had dismantled lock gates in stock to use for rebuilding the river wall, but needed Ashwells to complement them. The owners requested a bespoke rustic look using reclaimed and upcycled tropical timbers sourced from previous marine environments. Both the decking and cladding will last for many years to come.
Cook Piling: Henley
This cladding along the river bank at Henley-on-Thames demonstrates the various colours of tropical hardwood timber. It is also the ideal material to use as its durability is perfectly suited to this environment.
Garden Room
6a architects were commissioned to design a garden room for a mother of a busy family who was reliant on a wheelchair. Through their unique, innovative approach they designed a structure that winds around the trees situated in the centre of the garden. The client, Rowan Moore states, ‘we can enjoy the garden much more thoroughly, and that previous neglected parts now get more attention. The garden, actually smaller, feels bigger’. (Rowan Moore is architecture critic at the Observer and author of Why We Build). 6a approached us to supply the reclaimed Jarrah cladding for the walls and roof of the extension . We used reclaimed sleepers from the UK rail network, and cut them to their specifications in our sawmill. The project was awarded 2 RIBA awards.
Edible Organic Landscapes
We have had the pleasure of working with Sarah Kent on numerous Community based projects. She provides an excellent example of how versatile our planters are. By using the ‘Woodlock’, she’s been able to transform a hardstanding area into an attractive, functional space, providing fresh produce for the local community.
London Zoo
We have had the pleasure of working with London Zoo (ZSL), for over 20 years. We have provided reclaimed tropical hardwood timber for numerous animal habitats, from the Anteater house, to the Gorilla Kingdom and Leamur enclosures, and most recently Land of the Lions. The extremely gifted Landscape Designers and Construction Engineers have strived to ensure the enclosures suit the needs of all their inhabitants.
The Chelsea Tree House
This stunning Tree House achieved a Silver Gilt Medal in 2002. Murdoch Wickham designed the structure for Pear Tree (Tree House) Ltd. By using large sections of reclaimed timber within the structure, the tree house achieves an ageless look and the large leaved plants give it a tropical feel. We were delighted to work with Murdoch Wickham, providing the timber from places such as: flooring from waney edged Sequoia Broads; Oak Keel blocks as seating from The Royal Chatham Docks and edging made from Pile Points, cut from Greenheart pile ends
Timberplay: Castle Hill
This play area was built on the site of a quarry situated in Ebbsfleet Valley near the Bluewater Shopping centre. During previous works, evidence was unearthed that packs of early humans hunted the area, with bone and flint pieces showing that the group were able to successfully hunt and butcher an elephant for its meat. In keeping with the history of the site we were asked to supply the timber to replicate a rib cage of a large mammal. The timber for this project came from an Oak Tree that was felled to make way for a car park near Stansted in Essex!
Timberplay: Millfield Park
Aileen Shackell, Landscape Designer and Phil Doyle, Play Consultant, won a competition to transform this park in Hackney, using a very limited budget. We worked with them to prepare and supply the central play-tree feature, the tree sections surrounding the sand area and the feature entrance. All tree sections were sourced from Tree Surgeons waste and managed forests. They also used various play features provided and installed by Timberplay.
