Landscape

The Countdown to LANDSCAPE 2021 is on. The UK’s premier landscaping exhibition is less than a month away - have you registered yet?

Hall 12 on the 3rd & 4th November at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham - Make sure it’s in your diary!

The LANDSCAPE Show provides the first in-person opportunity to reconnect with others in the industry! LANDSCAPE welcomes exhibitors with a vast collection of leading products, services and innovations for the design, build and management of exterior and interior landscape projects.

LANDSCAPE 2021 is the trade event you will not want to miss – and the best part is, it’s all FREE! Come along to LANDSCAPE this November to find products to transform your project.

LANDSCAPE continues to offer the most up-to-date and current seminar programme in the industry. The programme is packed with CPD accredited sessions that aim to both educate and inspire visitors and exhibitors alike by the biggest names in landscaping. Visitors are in for a treat with some of the most interesting and diverse topics to date – ranging from Stone, Colour, Lighting, Arboriculture, Rooftop Gardens and Climate Change. When LANDSCAPE says there is “something for everyone”, they really do mean it! Both the exhibition and all seminar sessions are free to attend.

Speaker Mark Gregory from Landform Consultants said “the speaker programme is very, very varied. There is something for everybody of all different disciplines. CPD’s the way to go. There’s a lot of networking, a lot of high-end people, a lot of top people here, the networking is part of the show”.

With less than a month to go until LANDSCAPE 2021, have you registered yet?

LANDSCAPE 2021 will take place on Wednesday 3rd and Thursday 4th November at the NEC in Birmingham. You can apply for FREE entry to the show at www.landscapeshow.co.uk/ register. Entry guarantees you access to the exhibition hall as well as all seminar sessions.

See you there!

+44 (0)20 7821 8221

landscapeshow.co.uk

@LandscapeEvent #Landscape2021

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ST ARTHUR HOMES ACQUIRES PRIVATE UNITS FOR SHARED OWNERSHIP

Affordable housing provider St Arthur Homes has acquired its largest number of private units on one site to date, for Shared Ownership between Southampton and Portsmouth in a deal in excess of £25M with The Vistry Group.

The purchase of 95 affordable homes at the Whiteley Meadows development in Winchester, comes as part of St Arthur Homes’ focused expansion programme, as it aims to deliver at least 2,000 new homes over five years.

The first phase of 45 Shared Ownership homes at Whiteley Meadows will be launched for sale soon, including a range of two and three-bedroom houses and twobedroom apartments, providing affordable opportunities for buyers to get onto the property ladder for as little as a 5% deposit on the share they buy.

Buyers will initially be able to purchase a share of the property, with the opportunity to buy further shares up to outright ownership in the future. •44•

“We are delighted to have acquired the site at Whiteley Meadows, which is our largest Shared Ownership development to date. Working alongside Vistry, we are pleased to play our part in delivering this fantastic new community in an outstanding countryside location while helping make homes more affordable for our buyers. The increasing awareness and demand for Shared Ownership homes puts us in a strong position to continue to grow our business,” said Chief Executive

Officer for St Arthur Homes.

St Arthur Homes specialises in delivering premium shared ownership housing, without compromise on specification and is taking its place in the market as the aspirational RP. St Arthur works with a range of partners to acquire affordable housing across London and the South of England through S106 and grant-led schemes, with plans to expand into The Midlands. The deal with Vistry Group is the latest in a series of partnership deals with leading housebuilders as St Arthur increases its portfolio.

Whiteley Meadows is a multiphase development where the overall masterplan will deliver more than 3,000 new homes from a group of leading developers led by The Vistry Group. The plans also include new schools, a care home, community centre, green spaces and shops, along with associated infrastructure. The new neighbourhood is well situated between Southampton, Portsmouth and Winchester, and surrounded by countryside, making it an attractive and sustainable place to live.

CHOOSING THE BEST SUBFRAME FOR YOUR DECKING PROJECT

A decking subframe is the structure that sits beneath your deck, keeping it supported and providing the base that your decking boards are attached to.

The subframe is one of the most important parts of having a deck installed as, whilst the subframe is generally hidden, it is crucial for the deck’s longevity.

A poor subframe choice or install can lead to the decking being damaged or can even lead to the decking becoming structurally dangerous and eventually failure. With so many different subframes to choose from, which one is best and what should you look out for?

We review in-depth three popular subframe choices: timber, recycled plastic (Plas-Pro) & aluminium (DuoSpan). Each subframe material has different attributes and – being familiar with the benefits of each and knowing what to use and when – can add years to the deck’s longevity.

Softwood timber is the most common material used for decking subframes, and Millboard decking has been fitted on these types of subframes for over ten years. However, there have been many examples of timber subframes that have failed within 6 years of being installed, with the failings being identified to be attributed to a lack of understanding of the requirements of timber, incorrect timber being used in the wrong location and bad workmanship. Millboard Plas-Pro recycled subframe is an excellent alternative to timber for constructing the framework for decks, seating, planters and more. Constructed from recycled plastic, Plas-Pro is strong, versatile and easy to work with. The benefits of Plas-Pro over timber are that Plas-Pro can be used in contact with the ground and in water without the need for any airflow ventilation gaps; it can be sunk into the ground and surrounded fully with moisture without adverse effect.

Finally, DuoSpan is a unique landscape construction frame made with a combination of aluminium joists and beams, aluminium brackets and plastic support profiles. This combination enables distinctive design opportunities for decking and outdoor structures that would be impossible with timber subframes, due to the superior strength of aluminium and flexibility of plastic. Find out more! Download the comprehensive Decking Subframe Guide for in-depth performance comparisons, lifetime cost projections and expert knowledge on factors to consider when selecting a subframe for your decking project.

BESPOKE CAMPER VAN OFFICE, PRIVATE BOOTH OR LUXURY WORK FROM HOME SHED?

Quintain Living offers homeworkers all this and more!

Achieving the perfect work/ life balance is easier than ever before, thanks to the increased focus on working from home over the past 18 months. The UK’s Covid-19 vaccine rollout has been overwhelmingly hailed as a success yet despite this, not everyone wants to return to the office and pick up where they left off. A taste of a better balance between the office and working at home has inspired many workers to opt for hybrid or fully home-based arrangements out of choice, rather than necessity.

“The lines between living and working from home have become inextricably interwoven for many since the first lockdown began. It’s raised questions about the continuing relevance of commuting to the office every day; for many, spending a few days a week working from home is here to stay. Thankfully, we delight in delivering spaces that will surprise and excite our residents so we’ve had great fun designing a range of new work from home amenities.” - Danielle Bayless, Chief Operating Officer, Quintain Living

At Quintain Living – the award-winning management company overseeing the rental of more than 2,500 apartments in Wembley Park – the team has focused on providing a variety of innovative work from home solutions, to meet the differing needs of its residents.

Canada Gardens, for example, has heated designer work from home sheds that residents can hire, surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens. Many residents also like to pop into the clubhouse to enjoy a coffee and a bit of company while they work. There’s WiFi across the whole Wembley Park estate, as there is for all of Quintain Living’s Wembley Park buildings.

At The Robinson, Quintain has built private office space and work/ phone booths into the residents’ lounge. The versatile space can be used for both working and socialising, in recognition of the blurring of

the lines between the two. And for those who want a really inspiring work from home space, Quintain Living has provided a dedicated rooftop that’s home to three bespoke, custom-built work from home camper vans. Complete with power, heating and lighting (and WiFi, naturally), they sit on their own rooftop area with the sky wideopen above and stunning views of London. Quintain Living has added picnic tables and deckchairs too, to give the space a real community vibe.

“Working from home shouldn’t mean you have to feel lonely. We’re looking at this as a long-term occurrence now, incorporating more quirky work from home spaces in our future buildings, as well as thinking through how individual apartments can be designed to suit increased home working. That means including more space for desks, providing furniture that’s designed to be comfortable when used for longer periods at a time, that kind of thing. We’re also exploring ways that we can support residents to tailor their apartments to suit their individual working requirements; not every home worker needs an identikit desk/office chair setup.” - Danielle Bayless, Chief Operating Officer, Quintain Living

Quintain Living is also reassessing its current residents’ lounges to see how it can reshape them to suit increased home working without compromising their use for social gathering. This company is looking at both rentable workspaces and coworking-influenced environments for flexible use as part of this. The plans have at their core an understanding that working from home takes many different forms. As such, Quintain Living is looking at how it can support residents by providing the physical space they need, along with creative, inspirational environments that also provide scope for social interaction and emotional support.

“The pandemic has changed so many aspects of life that were previously taken for granted – how we feel about our homes, places of work, rest and sanctuary. We’re fully embracing the hybrid working trend here at Quintain and for our residents and can’t wait to reveal our latest offerings with each new building.” - Danielle Bayless, Chief Operating Officer, Quintain Living

For more information on Quintain Living or to book a viewing, visit www.quintainliving.com, @quintainliving on Instagram or call 020 3151 1927.

sustainability BIOTECTURE’S LIVING WALL FEATURES IN RHS CHELSEA GOLD MEDAL AND ‘BEST SHOW GARDEN’

Biotecture, a UK leader in living walls, is celebrating the news that its PlantBox living wall system featured in this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medal and coveted ‘Best Show Garden’.

Guangzhou Garden received the awards for its Chinese-inspired garden, which shows how cities of the future must be considered as landscape cities.

Designed by director Peter Chmiel and senior associate Chin-Jung Chen from Grant Associates, ‘The Guangzhou Garden’ took inspiration from Guangzhou, a port city northwest of Hong Kong on China’s Pearl River.

The pair’s Chinese-inspired garden paid homage to Guangzhou’s philosophy of giving equal consideration to the needs of people and wildlife through sustainable city planning strategies, reconnecting people and nature in a mutually beneficial relationship.

Biotecture’s installed a three metre high by 10 metre long living wall within the woodland dell section, supporting one of the garden’s core environmental strategies; improving air quality by using technology and nature working in harmony, a concept of the ‘green lung’.

As part of the living wall installation, Biotecture’s prototype Active Air technology, developed in collaboration with engineers from ‘We Design For’, was installed to pipe clean air created from the modular PlantBox living wall into the garden’s ‘social heart’ central structure for people to enjoy.

The Guangzhou Garden living wall Active Airflow system created air pressure that drew in polluted air through the leaf and root zones of the plants where harmful particulate matter and gas pollutants are removed and allowing the system to output clean air.

Along with tackling pollution from cars - traffic on the UK’s roads accounts for 32% of nitrogen oxides •50•

in the atmosphere - Biotecture’s Active Air technology has the potential for improving indoor air quality in areas of buildings with limited natural airflow.

Biotecture’s living wall system also aids biodiversity, providing valuable forage for pollinators such as bees and butterflies. The foliage also provides further benefits in terms of removing airborne pollutants such as particulate matter, reducing urban temperatures and attenuating rainwater. At the same time, living walls contribute to a sense of well-being for those living and working close by.

The Guangzhou Garden was created in collaboration with garden design consultancy The Outdoor Room, with prominent bamboo structures developed in partnership with Xylotek, living walls from Biotecture and water features supplied by Bamber Wallis.

“Congratulations to Grant Associates for their thoroughly well-deserved Gold Medal and ‘Best Show Garden’ at RHS Chelsea,” said Richard Sabin,

Managing Director at Biotecture.

“The Guangzhou Garden encapsulated the benefits of reconnecting people and nature, while highlighting the benefits of responsible city planning. We are delighted our living wall played an important part in the overall design.”

Biotecture’s PlantBox living wall product was used in six separate installations at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

For more information on Biotecture, visit: www.biotecture.uk.com