Completed March 2017
The courtyard lies at the centre of a four storey student apartment block in Fallowfield, Manchester, enclosed entirely by structural steel columns and walkways.
The scheme sets out to soften this overwhelmingly hard urban environment and bring it to life as a garden; semi-mature birch trees rise vertically through the centre of the space and shade loving plants are layered at seat level beneath. Climbing plants are establishing well at the edges of the courtyard and are poised to clothe the existing structural metalwork to create a ‘green canyon’ in effect.
Construction 2018
The proposals for this memorial garden have been developed for a Christian community needing somewhere to focus their thoughts and memories of those that they have loved and lost.
The design sets out to create a garden within a garden, a green and serene outdoor retreat offering peace and a place to think. Spaces are defined simply with hedges, light leaved birch trees and dry-stone walls, connected by footpaths and softened by planting.
A palette of natural materials and plants are blended and balanced to relate the garden as closely as possible to nature, both in spirit and in practise - a fundamental aim for myself as designer and for the community who have chosen me.
An element that distils this approach is a sculptural retaining wall designed and constructed as an insect 'hotel' - drilled timbers and sticks will be assembled sculpturally as a home for insects and as somewhere for visitors to register private thought, prayers and conversations - written on paper and posted in the wall, messages will break down naturally over time and become part of the garden iteslf.
Whilst my role as designer is recognised and protected the garden has been conceived as a shared project and the active involvement of this community is crucial to the identity and spirit of the garden as it grows.
Principal Designer for Barnes Walker Ltd
New gardens were designed, constructed and planted as part of extensive restoration and enlargement works to a small cottage in rural Cheshire.
Substantial ground works and remodelling were required to accommodate the extended building and parking court and to relate the new house and access arrangements to the surrounding grounds and gardens. New drystone walls retain ground levels and existing trees subtly to create a series of gentle terraces that keep level changes to a minimum, lawns accessible and views open.
With the exception and the retained trees to the edges of the garden everything is newly constructed and planted. The aim of the design has been to create a rural cottage garden that looks as if it's been there forever, something that I feel was achieved effectively.
Construction 2018
The project has been designed for - and chosen by - a Christian community based in Littleborough, near Rochdale.
Whilst my role as designer is recognised and protected the garden has been conceived as a shared project and the active involvement of this community is crucial to the identity and spirit of the garden as it grows.
Photographs of completed scheme due Spring 2018
Principal Designer for Barnes Walker Ltd
Chorley Old Hall is a Grade 1 Listed stone and timber framed house surrounded by a moat and accessed via a Grade 2 Listed stone bridge. The site itself a designated Scheduled Monument (SM).
Architects Worthington Ashworth Jackson Walker (WAJW) were commissioned to design a contemporary extension to the existing house, with Barnes Walker Ltd taking on the re-design for the grounds and gardens.
As the principal designer a key challenge has been to work with the archaeologists to protect the rich history of the site. Trees could not be planted and excavations were permitted only with archaeological supervision and approval.
The design was developed essentially as a 'no dig' exercise - a curved cantilevered deck swings over an existing bank of azaleas and leaves the ground untouched. Adjacent sections of the moat bank are terraced upwards with ground levels built up and retained with Corten strips and an elliptical timber bench.
The rail itself is set at the outer edge of the oversailing deck extending and exaggerating the cantilevered effect - the struts curve outwards and support a curving timber bench and bar/ barbecue, bringing us closer to the moat and azalea bank.
ARCHITECTS : Worthington Ashworth Jackson Walker (WAJW)
METALWORK : David Hyde - Verdigris
Photographs of planting and completed gardens due Spring 2018
Principal Designer for Barnes Walker Ltd
'No straight lines please...'
This garden was designed for an artist interested in organic variations of texture and colour and averse to all notes of formality.
A design of flowing, interwoven curves was created - sharp lawn edges are defined by rusting Cor-ten walls and paving breaks down to include plants and pebbles.
Mown paths wind through the garden and disappear into woodland and planting has an informal, naturalistic quality - the distinction between the surrounding countryside and the garden remains deliberately vague...
I have been involved with the design and development of many school gardens and growing projects, both professionally and as a parent, working closely with local communities to involve as many people as possible.
Principal Designer for Barnes Walker Ltd
Crossley Hall is a Grade 2 Listed half timbered house currently undergoing restoration and refurbishment.
As principal designer for Barnes Walker Ltd I have prepared proposals for the grounds and gardens, working with the architects Worthington Ashworth Jackson Walker (WAJW) to help secure planning consent for an extension.
Before and during renovation
Constructed Winter 2017 (Final photos due Spring 2018)
As access was severely restricted for this second courtyard and the design was adjusted to reduce the volume of soil and the size of trees required - the circle motif was retained but inverted with trees and plants grouped centrally and the bench platform surrounding them.
Topsoil had to be brought up in buckets in a lift and the trees and hard material carried up two fights of internal stairs - quite a challenge...
Planting was adjusted to create a different identity for the second space, with grasses and associated species combined to give a looser, more fluid quality to the under planting.
Historic Interpretation - Pre-demolition planning condition.
Principal Designer for Barnes Walker Ltd
These proposals were prepared to interpret the history of this significant factory site as it is regenerated as residential development.
The Linotype story will be told directly and obliquely as part of the fabric of the new landscape, exploring the rich heritage of the site via a trail of sculptural elements, both monolithic and miniscule…
Photographs of completed garden due Spring 2018
A decision was finally taken to lose the lawn from this small Manchester garden and to fill it with plants, water and wildlife.
Places to sit and recline are scattered around the garden and surrounded by plants, linked by a maze of gravel footpaths, stepping stones and a sculptural oak 'bridge'.
Straight lines disappear into soft planting and edges are deliberately blurred.
Planting has a loose, cottage garden quality with airy herbaceous plants rising through an informal structure of evergreen foliage in spring and summer. A shifting kaleidoscope of flowers and leaves evolves as the seasons change and the garden is always different - even in January varied shades and textures of green combine with old seed heads and new shoots to give a sense of life and growth.
Still quite green in January...
Planning consent secured 2017
This design for a simple pavilion - constructed using steel shipping containers - was developed for a community of allotment holders in South Manchester.
When closed the building is simply a shipping container - secure and windowless. Timber lined security panels open out to transform the structure into a warm, vibrant community hub, set within woodland gardens and overlooking the surrounding allotments.
The pavilion now has planning consent and we are working together as a committee to finalise details and begin construction.
Shipping container building set in woodland overlooking allotments
Completed Autumn 2017
This scheme sets out to soften an area of hard surface between two student apartment blocks in central Manchester, providing residents with somewhere to sit, relax and socialise.
Simple steel clad planter units support timber benches and are filled with topsoil to seat level.
Each is planted as a 'mini cottage garden' with a mix of low growing plants selected and combined to provide year round evergreen structure, with flowers appearing for colour and scent throughout Spring and Summer.
Principal Designer for Barnes Walker Ltd
As principal designer for Barnes Walker Ltd I have devised and led a project to develop a supply of 10L plant stock for a national house builder.
Working with JA Jones in Southport we are experimenting with a range of species and pruning regimes to finalise the selection and quality specification for a defined palette of plants, aiming to secure a ready and reliable supply of high quality 10L stock.
Species have been selected carefully to achieve a structural and textural balance with a high evergreen content and an overall quality of softness and seasonality. When combined as directed these plants create attractive gardens with an immediate presence and sustainable future.
We have achieved some impressive results and the impact on the quality of planting has been significant.
Vegetable plants are often beautiful and can be grown creatively within gardens for their colour and texture as well as for food.
Flowers, foliage and the fruits and vegetables themselves can add an aesthetic that combines well with some of the more usual garden plants and interesting effects and associations can be achieved.
Straight lines are not essential...
