Paul Dracott Garden Design Blog - Cambridge Garden Design

Roof Terrace Design Canary Wharf Part 2

Three weeks before the Olympics, we set out from Cambridge for Canary Wharf.

Due to all the other trades working on the interior of the penthouse, our plan was to work two consecutive weekends and complete the roof terrace in two visits.

After meticulous planning ensuring all materials arrived at site at the correct moment and with two vehicles packed with tools for every eventuality, early Friday morning we started on the clearance of the terrace. Despite being late June and almost timed to the opening of the terrace doors, the heavens opened!

Not only were we getting soaked but site access of the apartment block meant there was no possibility of crane lifts for materials and being seven floors up ruled out block and tackle, so everything had to go out (and in) through the penthouse, along the corridor and into the lift.

By lunch on day one all the paving, supports and detritus had been cleared from the terrace. We then started on the carcassing for the decking. Extensive construction drawings had been generated for this project allowing the deck to be constructed as a kit of parts in the under cover carpark. By the end of day all decking one carcass and supports were installed along with first fix of electrical supplies and insulation. The sun had also now come out!

Day two started with the most strenuous of the build’s phases. Importation of the decking surface.

The material chosen was grey recycled composite decking and it was proposed to lay the 4800mm lengths with as few cuts as possible so this ruled out the lift as its diagonal was only 3600mm. Importation meant carrying each board up 14 flights of stairs. This took most of the morning. Thankfully fixing was straight forward with cuts being done in the car park and the decking was completed by the end of day two.

The following weekend, again loaded up, this time with preformed box hedging we travelled to Canary Wharf.

Whilst the lighting and irrigation was installed upstairs, the galvanised containers were planted up in the carpark and transported in the lift to the penthouse. They were then manhandled into position around the edge of the terrace. Planted up, each container weighed in excess of 200kg.

Final connection of the lights was carried out, finishing details installed and all waste loaded onto the vehicles.

Later that week the irrigation was commissioned, furniture delivered and the terrace handed over to the delighted client.

We had built the terrace in four long and strenuous days ready for the Olympic Opening Ceremony in three days time! A triumph of planning and good design!

Garden Design Cambridge

Roof Terrace Design Canary Wharf

Following on in my series of diverse work of a Cambridge garden designer, this week I will be looking at a project in a growing area for garden designers, Roof Terrace Design.

The project I have chosen is not the largest or most complex roof terrace we have built, but was certainly the most difficult logistically.

The project was a penthouse in Canary Wharf, London, came about through a working relationship with At Home Interior Design Consultants, with whom we have worked on numerous projects.

The penthouse was on the seventh floor of a block surrounded by garden on one side and the dock on the other. A large balcony terrace was on the southerly aspect and a narrow walk around strip surround the remaining side. The outside space however small was made more important by the glass walls of the penthouse and the fantastic views of the O² and Canary Wharf beyond.

Completion had to be before the start of the London Olympics. Given the commission was only confirmed six weeks before this date this meant design, orders, lead times for bespoke fittings and construction all had to meticulously planned.

The design was kept simple so as to be in harmony with the contemporary interior. Recycled ECOdeck in grey was proposed as the surface, with box hedging in galvanised steel containers would wrap around the building adding much needed green to the urban setting. These hedges were punctuated with Box balls and in one area privet standards emphasised the architectural feel of this scheme.

At night views from the penthouse were spectacular, so an LED based light system was proposed. This would include deck mounted up lighters and LED strips built in to the containers containing the box hedges.

The design finalised, orders were placed and timings set. The immovable deadline of the Olympics drew closer.

Garden Design Cambridge 2012