Landscape Architecture Portfolio
As architects, landscape architects and urban designers, we create award winning buildings, living landscapes and thriving urban spaces, using inventive design to solve real life challenges. Each of our projects is different but the driving force behind every one is the desire to create something that is inherently beautiful, sustainable and useful.
From our design studios in London and Manchester, we are committed to creating landscapes that give a lifetime of pleasure with an emphasis on people led, inventive design. We recognise that the spaces between buildings are just as important as the buildings themselves and balance creative thinking with a thorough analysis of the site, context, heritage, topography, climate, water and wildlife to create attractive, distinctive and robust environments. Sustainable landscapes have an essential role at the heart of all successful public spaces.
We strongly believe that all projects are multi-faceted and require the highest level of ‘placemaking’, involving our urban designers, architects and landscape architects. This enables us to look at all projects holistically, providing the expertise to deal with both the macro scale masterplanning and micro scale detailing.
Barlett Park Tower Hamlets, London London Borough of Tower Hamlets Our design reinvents Poplar’s Bartlett Park by introducing a new masterplan, which greatly improves the green spaces available to the local community and so encourages people to spend more time outdoors and enjoy an active lifestyle. Facilities for footballers and dog walkers have been reprovided, with other new uses introduced such as inclusive play, an outdoor gym, planted garden space, picnic areas, community event spaces and a new fantastic canal side amenity, which improves access to the towpath and water. A new designated community garden with ‘quiet’ spaces provides further opportunity for tranquil enjoyment and a feeling of being close to nature. A focus on biodiversity and new planting across the masterplan ensures long term sustainability and vibrancy within the park.
“Bartlett Park has been turned from a flat slab of grass into a really wonderful place for people to spend time. I’ve lost count of the number of people who have mentioned the wildflowers to me! The wandering paths and changes of level make it feel much larger, and it gives a sense of wildness which is so necessary for urban-dwellers.” Councillor Bex White
The key concept for our masterplan, which will provide 1,176 new homes, shops, a faith centre, community centre and PCT, is to create a series of new routes in and around the site – making it much more permeable and welcoming for both residents and visitors. A new linear park sits at the heart of the neighbourhood, featuring soft planting and informal play spaces, alongside significant biodiversity enhancements and a sustainable water treatment system. A secondary framework of residential courtyard also offers doorstep amenity within a sheltered setting.
“The sophistication and continuity of the stakeholder engagement process has clearly paid off with a palpable sense of ownership, care and pride.” Landscape Institute Awards judge
Aberfeldy New Village Tower Hamlets, London Aberfeldy New Village LLP
Wormholt Park Hammersmith & Fulham, London London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham Our brief was to fully reinvigorate this park and make it an exemplar for accessibility. Half of the amenities in the large young children’s play area are accessible by children with disabilities – including a state-of-theart wheelchair swing, roundabout and trampoline – alongside other equipment which offers strong sensory experience. We also focused on the creation of ‘playable landscapes’ including a bold climbing frame set among a beautiful stand of coniferous trees. Elsewhere, connections have been improved and views opened up to make the park safer and more ‘free flowing’.
“I am thrilled that Wormholt Park now has an inclusive play area, with wheelchair users having a choice of play equipment to choose from, which is a first in the borough. The park also has a beautifully large accessible open space with beautiful trees and planting.” Hayley Wedgbury, Parents Active
Dating from 1873, Devonshire Park has long been an attraction for the south coast. However, the facilities are in need of significant revitalisation and so we were appointed to carefully restore the listed theatres; enhance the tennis facilities and provide a new conference building. The landscape masterplan will see the creation of a new public plaza with an outdoor café and increased planting – reinforcing the parkland setting and strengthening connections with the seafront and town centre.
“This is an extremely exciting project that will bring more people to Eastbourne, provide even better facilities for residents and support the sustainability of the park for future generations.” Councillor David Tutt, Leader of Eastbourne Borough Council
Devonshire Park Eastbourne Eastbourne Borough Council
Hazelhurst Court Lewisham, London Phoenix Community Housing Working within the constraints of a tight urban plot, this scheme comprises 60 extra care homes within two new buildings, alongside integrated communal space. Being mindful that older people spend more time inside, the design is centred on the concept of bringing the outside in and all homes are dual aspect to provide views of the courtyards and neighbouring streets. Similarly, a new garden room offers a generous, light-filled communal space between the two courtyards, each of which has a different character to provide a range of physical and visual stimuli for residents.
“I never expected it to be as lovely as it is. My friends have all told me how lucky I am, and how they wish they were moving in too!”. Beryl Goodhew, resident
This scheme has transformed a former industrial site into a new residential community, with 59 affordable homes, a health centre and shared garden. The landscape plays a crucial unifying role, with the colour of the mews houses spreading through the central courtyard through the use of recycled glass paving and red planting species, such as scarlet tulips, red sedums and berrying shrubs. A three storey opening in the corner of one of the apartment buildings also forms a communal terrace with views over the courtyard and reservoirs beyond.
“We are delighted with this scheme – not only does it provide much-needed, 100% affordable homes for local people, but it is a striking addition to the streetscape that has been a catalyst for the wider regeneration of the area.” Trevor Burns, Director of Development, Sales and Asset Management, East Thames Housing Group
Sutherland Road Waltham Forest, London East Thames Housing Group
Ocean Estate Tower Hamlets London East Thames Housing Group, First Base, Bellway Homes, Wates Living Space and Spitalfields Housing Association The comprehensive regeneration of this estate involved refurbishing 1,200 existing homes, building over 1,000 new homes and enhancing the landscape. Existing monolith blocks made way for smaller buildings to recreate a more traditional street pattern, designed around central courtyards with variation in scale and materials to respond to the context. New routes into the site, where pedestrians and cyclists have priority, further improve its permeability. A shared surface approach to street design with seating and tree planting has also created incidental spaces for residents to inhabit and feel proud of.
“Our work on the Ocean Estate has transformed a post code. It’s seamlessly integrated the new and old communities and carefully fused together architecture and landscape to create a genuinely mixed, thriving neighbourhood.” Gary Tidmarsh, Director
This project encloses an existing service yard as an undercroft to create a new public space at the heart of UCL’s Bloomsbury campus. Conceived as a contemporary, high quality, stone landscaped terrace within the historic courtyard, it features a striking ‘fourth façade’, which completes the classical courtyard composition and conceals the plethora of services required for the existing buildings and the new lower refectory. Constructed using Portland Stone and designed to classical Georgian proportions, it is a contemporary interpretation of the surrounding historic architecture and helps to tie all the courtyard elements together.
“It is a fabulous space developed for our staff, students and visitors and will benefit and inspire our entire academic community for generations to come.” Andrew Grainger, Director, UCL Estates
Wilkins Terrace, UCL Camden, London University College London
Heybourne Park Barnet, London Choices for Grahame Park The redesign of this park accommodates a diversity of needs as part of a wider regeneration programme, including better connecting the associated estate with the surrounding area and integrating homes and services. The community focus is evident in a wide range of attractions, including playspace, activity space encouraging experimental play, and formal facilities for organised sports. The completed park also includes a neighbourhood play area, amphitheatre/ performance space, health and fitness trail, dog exercise areas and a revitalised pond, providing an ecologically rich area for wildlife.
This project began life as an open design competition to explore new models for affordable, urban, family housing. Our response was based around a ‘home-sown’ philosophy, imagining the scheme as a holistic, productive landscape where every single surface is designed to be useful. 13 dwellings are provided in a mixture of duplex homes on the ground and first floors, and two bedroom apartments above. Family homes have gardens and flexible ‘garden’ rooms, whilst communal gardens will be shared with residents of the tower block, and run by the local gardening club.
“Levitt Bernstein rose to the challenge set by this competition, by providing a distinctive type of affordable family housing that promotes a ‘grow your own food’ ethos.” Hayley McNicol, London Borough of Islington
Vaudeville Court Islington, London London Borough of Islington
South Thamesmead Public Realm Bexley, London Peabody Initial resident engagement for the public realm strategy informed us that residents wanted to see quick change, including colour and impact at the doorstep. In response, we devised a series of ‘quick win’ interventions that could demonstrate opportunities for planting, lighting, street furniture and public art. By initiating online consultation tools, we will gather further feedback from residents and promote the interventions they like, as well as engaging them in community activities for bulb planting, lighting demonstrations and creative workshops for new murals.
Following the completion of our public realm strategy for South Thamesmead, we have led the design and delivery of the first phase of enhancements for the existing Parkview community. Constraints identified were largely inherent in the 1960’s masterplan which sought to separate people from cars at street-level and promoted entry to homes from first-floor circulation routes. This was paired with an overly ‘built’ character of external space. Our landscape-led works have transformed existing open spaces, offering radically improved function, appearance and accessibility for residents. By working with Peabody, we have ensured improved management and maintenance whilst achieving larger targets of climate change resilience, improved connectivity, biodiversity and integration of sustainable design.
“Levitt Bernstein have bought a rich palette of planting, sustainable urban drainage, play and other new features to these areas with a dramatic transformation from grey to green.” Phil Askew, Director of Landscape & Placemaking, Peabody
Parkview, South Thamesmead Bexley, London Peabody
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