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Iconic British Brutalist Architecture
BRUTALISM takes the malleability of concrete and extends it into new architectural dynamic forms. Refolo takes the juxtaposition of water and concrete as an inspiration for a journey from chaos to order across the garden.
Image of the podium deck during waterproofing shortly after new trees installed on site.
Waterproofing works required the whole podium deck to be completely laid bare to concrete slab level.
• The Water Gardens during refurbishment
• Dredging the pond after 50 years
The old gardens were in urgent need of restoration. There were water leaks to the under-croft car park, plants roots compromising structural integrity and paving in need of replacing.
The linear paving design creates the link between the parallel timber imprints of the cantilevered terraces and planters with the dynamic fluidity of the water in the ponds.
Refolo’s design approach was inspired by the interplay of the static energy of the Brutalist concrete with the kinetic energy of the water. The paving design is expressed through increasingly regular wave patterns, progressing from chaos to order as the observer moves through the space. The planting echoes this transition.
Refolo’s planting strategy ensures seasonal interest with early and late flowering species and winter berries for aesthetic and ecological benefits.
300 fish (mainly carp and goldfish)
were reintroduced. A wide range of aquatic planting filter the water and provide habitat.
• Total number of plants: 33282
• Total number of plants-excl bulbs: 5320
• Shrubs: 520
• Aquatic: 1109
• Perennials: 1790
• Grasses: 1343
A SELF SUFFICIENT SYSTEM
Refolo re-discovered the ingenuity of the long forgotten original design of the interconnectivity between the pond and the planters ensuring a self sufficient irrigation system for mature trees.
When the old paving was lifted it revealed a depth of up to 0.8m to the slab level. Refolo saw an opportunity for a sustainable urban drainage system to be introduced beneath the paving.
The new rainwater interception system is collected over 450sqm of geocellular interlocked system located beneath the paving.This provides attenuation as well as rainwater harvesting for planters irrigation.
Six ventilation voids covered by semi-intensive green roofs.
The new 200sqm green roofs will increase storm-water infiltration within the site and attenuate up to 14,000L of water, in addition to providing food and habitat to a wide range of species.
The paving design is expressed through increasingly regular wave patterns, progressing from chaos to order as the observer moves through the space. The planting echoes this transition.
Refolo’s planting strategy ensures seasonal interest
with early and late flowering species and winter berries for aesthetic and ecological benefits.
The Refolo custom designed benches are inspired by the brutalist architectural language of the site.
See the lighting design for The Water Gardens scheme.
