Blink and you will miss August, what a month! We are praying these are not the last days of summer but in the meantime, we have being busy delivering our work. Check out the scintillating Spacehub news from August below.
Construction updates
Folkestone Plot B1 nearing completion
Shoreline Crescent has two distinct microclimates, one created by the harsh sea winds and a second from the shelter formed by the crescent-shaped building. These contrasting conditions allow the landscape to have two very different characters, informed by distinct planting types and design language. On the beach and in the adjacent Shingle garden, linear shingle dunes planted with colonising native species, such as those found along Folkestone Beach, offer protection from south-westerly winds. The front gardens take on this same beach character. The residents’ podium garden is sheltered, lush and vibrant, informed by the same Mediterranean planting found in the Lower Leas Coastal Park. Due to the sheltered nature of the podium, mounds and forms become loose, free and informal.
Birchwood site visit
Initially starting back in 2017, our project – Birchwood – in collaboration with Sheppard Robson has finally completed its final phase of development. Set in rural South Cambridgeshire, a diverse and sympathetic landscape setting houses state of the art labs and research facilities provide a new home for The Technology Partnership, TTP. Three landscape typologies – woodland, wetland and meadow – defined by distinctive planting types have been identified as a result of studying the local landscape in the wider and immediate context, the impact on neighbours in Melbourn village, the physical demands of the environment and the need for a greater connection between the proposed site and current Melbourn Science Park.
Kennington Park
Spacehub have delivered a series of vibrant coloured planters adorned with pollinator plants, bringing a new vibrancy to this social workspace. Some of the species we have loved to introduce to this scheme include Echinacea, Euphorbia and Rosmarinus prostrates, a palette of drought resilient plants.
Canterbury Court terrace serves, as a primary pedestrian access point to Kennington Park from Oval station comprises of a flexible yard space, a flexible working space and now an eclectic bunch planters. We are all excited to see this project come into fruition before the end of summer and see the bumblebees make good use of the Verbena bonariensis! Spacehub have relished working with Workspace Group.
Chancery House
We’re thrilled to see our vibrant planting thriving and adorning Chancery House, a newly retrofitted office building by Client, The Office Group and designed by dMFK Architects with Norm.
Chancery House is located on Chancery Lane, close to Lincoln’s Inn Fields, in an area of the City associated with the legal profession and the jewellery quarter. The building housed the historic Silver Vaults, originally constructed from an abandoned post office and underground tunnel in 1885. The original building above ground was bombed during WWII and built in roughly its current form in the 1950s, salvaging some of the existing basement Silver Vaults.
The scheme upgrades the existing building with a range of new external spaces including central courtyard, extensive terraces and a new garden in place of the former ground level carpark. The external spaces are all extensively planted to transform the character of the workplace, improve biodiversity, wellbeing and connection to nature.
It is delightful to see people savouring their coffee and lunch, or diving into a good read amidst the inviting breakout and social spaces surrounded by beautiful flowers and ornamental grasses.
Sketchbook
Around the office, we continue to enhance our sketching skills through different forms of media, from the digital of Photoshop and Midjourney to the old school analogue ways. Check out some of our early stage concepts and stay tuned as they continue to develop and grow.
Office outings
Site Visit to Enfield
Our colleagues’ Matt and Ya took a visit to Enfield for the start of a new project. The area was unknown to them but they quickly discovered many hidden treasures including a connection to the London Loop. The pathway – as you can see – was obstructed heavily with bits of urban paraphernalia but if we wish to keep spaces like this, accessible to all we should try to highlight them whether it be through wayfinding, hard materials or keeping the wheelie bins out of the way. Keep your eyes peeled for more developments as we get underway on this new and exciting project!
CPD
John Little
Following on from Henry’s visit to John Little’s brownfield construction experimental garden, we were treated one lunchtime to a visit from John in the studio. The CPD detailed John’s work experimenting with various soil types, depths, wetland roofs, partly vegetated roofs, and creating habitats for invertebrates. The talk was also a chance for us all as landscape architects to talk openly about the state of the industry and what can namely be done to improve the spaces we design. Generating the budget for maintenance became the greatest talking point on the agenda with all of us – including john. The maintenance of landscape, we argued, currently seen as an afterthought. We argued that if the profession as whole is to take a step forward, maintenance must be planned, costed and embedded from the outset of the design process into projects in order for urban landscapes to flourish.
Welcome to Timothy
It is a warm welcome this month to Timothy who joins the Spacehub team after graduating from Sheffield University having completed his masters. We look forward to Timothy bringing artistic flair to projects in the near future!
Out of work – Show & Tell
Corporate Social Responsibility
Here at Spacehub we have set in motion a studio-wide policy to encourage everyone to explore their wide and varied interests through corporate social responsibility days. These days are dedicated towards what makes us passionate as designers however, is not limited to landscape related activities, they can be anything from volunteering at Bethnal Green Tube Station Library to rescuing hedgehogs with British Hedgehog Preservation Society.
Tree Musketeers
Henry this month had the privilege of mucking in with the Tree Musketeers on site at their community tree nursery in the Hackney Marshes. Volunteering for the day, he managed to help with the clearing of scrub vegetation, constructing air-pots and learning about the processes of ‘bletting’, which is used to soften Medlar fruit found in abundance on the site. The resulting jam is lovely, or so I have been told. Having completed his day, Henry will look to start regularly volunteering with Tree Musketeers.
Wedding
We were delighted this month to spend time together celebrating the marriage of Alice and her partner Federico. The pair married in the beautiful hills of Lucca, Italy. Congratulations to the both of them from all at Spacehub!
