04/08/2013
in news
dart marina planting
Four months on and the planting at the Dart Marina River Garden is beginning to come alive. Go to Dart Marina project page...
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Author: Tom Barnsley
26/04/2013
in news
avery hill campus community food garden – ongoing
Things are beginning to take shape in the community food garden over at the Avery hill campus of the University of Greenwich. The first phase of the forest garden has been planted and the large pond area is being prepared for planting. The raised beds are into a second season and have been tended by staff and students on campus under the guidance of the sustainability team. Very productive they have been too! At the end of last year, we led the construction of the on site polytunnel which is now full of seedlings ready for the coming months. Around the same time we also finalised the detailed planting plans for the forest garden areas. The first phase of planting will begin soon and will include over sixty varieties of tree and shrub species. All of the proposed planting has a use within the forest garden system. The detailed design of the...
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11/04/2013
in news
great fen visitors centre
At the beginning of the year Roundfield were asked by architects Gruff Ltd to collaborate on a joint submission for the Great Fen Visitors Centre design competition. The brief for the competition called for "an exceptional building [together with associated infrastructure and immediate landscape works] that is in tune with the project’s overall ambitions, the qualities of the site, the fenland landscape and to be an exemplar of sustainability both in construction and use." Our work with Gruff produced a submission that was both sensitive to the fen landscape context as well as the need to work within budget constraints to create a focal point for the visitor experience. A microcosm of the wider landscape within an internal courtyard is enclosed by the building on three sides with the open side directing visitors out towards the fen beyond into which they can venture via a series of boardwalks. "The boardwalk takes the...
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22/03/2013
in news
garden is named as it nears completion
The new garden at Dart Marina is all but finished with the exception of a few finishing touches. So far feedback has been extremely positive. The garden looks gratifyingly close to the original vision, and when the planting gets going it cannot fail to impress! Having struggled to find a suitable name for this space that occupies a former expanse of tarmac between the Hotel and the Marina, it was decided that the setting itself provided the answer: Dart Marina River Garden. We'll have some professional pictures to show once the garden has become more established, but here are a few early pics to whet the appetite.. ...
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closest forest garden to brick lane?
Work is continuing apace at Spitalfields City Farm community garden in London, with the construction of the decked walkway made from reused scaffold planks. The walkway and seating area will soon be graced with a roundwood shelter complete with rainwater harvesting that overflows into a swale system. Attention has recently been turned to the forest garden area towards the back of the site. First it has been necessary to break through the layer of concrete that spans the entire site – a legacy left by Transport for London having used this area as an access point to construct the new East London Line. We have been mindful to only break through the concrete where the planting areas are proposed, as this firm base can be put to good use under the paths and seating areas. Despite the challenge of breathing life back into a ravaged post industrial landscape, soon a 15 tonne delivery of...
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26/02/2013
in news
hotel car park begins the transformation into a garden…
The Dart Marina project is well and truly underway, soon to create an enticing green space that will connect the hotel to the River Dart Marina. The terraces and main lawn are already taking shape, with the decked walkway scheduled to follow shortly. The green oak sleeper walls are starting to give a real solidity to the formal structure of the garden, which will be softened when we plant up the terraces with shrubs and perennials selected for their drought tolerance and biodiversity value. The main impact will be provided by three 4 meter high Quercus ilex (holm oak) trees which we look forward to maneuvering into position next week. The contractors are on a tight schedule to build the garden in just five weeks, so watch this space for more images as the garden nears completion. ...
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20/12/2012
in news
street forage – the website
We're excited to announce our new blog that is dedicated to the exploration of public edible landscapes. It is a collaboration between us and author and urban foraging expert Dave Hamilton. It's still in it's infancy but please do go and have a look and let us know what you think. www.streetforage.co.uk ...
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18/09/2012
in news
spiralfields – work begins
Work begins on site on the spiralfields project based at Spitalfields City Farm in Tower Hamlets. Volunteers from the nearby Osmani Centre came along to help out: Jim and Theresa finishing the first raised bed: The amazing Bottle Gourds (Kuda) growing in the poytunnel: ...
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18/09/2012
in news
street forage!
The Landscape Institute, Garden Museum and Mayor of London launched ‘A High Line for London: Green Infrastructure Ideas Competition for a new London landscape’. Inspired by New York’s High Line, it was judged by a panel of experts including the founders of the High Line, entrants were challenged to put forward innovative concepts that create imaginative new green space in the capital. This was our entry: Street Forage The people of Deptford are more aware of the importance of green infrastructure than most. Deptford Green is one of the preferred sites for linkage to the new 'Super Sewer' project being proposed by Thames Water. Those opposed to the proposals have highlighted the fact that a scheme based partly on the use of green infrastructure could provide multiple benefits at less cost. Rationale Street Forage is our response to both the brief and also to the above. What better place to demonstrate an innovative multi functional...
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11/07/2012
in news
the forest garden…
The Roundfield trip to Martin Crawford's forest garden had been a long time coming. Talk of Martin's course has been echoing around our office for literally years so we were both pretty chuffed to finally make the journey down to his two acre site near Totnes. “Martin Crawford has spent the last 15 years creating what is almost certainly the best forest garden in the temperate world...
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