The site had few existing opportunities for planting so we focused on the design and detailing of raised planters in as many locations as possible.
Greenwood Associates was commissioned to provide landscape architectural services for a new high-end retail development on The Strand in Parnell, Auckland. The project came with some distinct challenges for us as landscape architects as the site was to be repurposed from an industrial manufacturing and warehousing facility to retail shops and parking. The raw site had a lot of concrete and very few existing opportunities for us to provide planting and soften the effects of the harsh, built surfaces. Consequently, we focused on the design and detailing of raised planters in as many locations as possible. This included bespoke steel and concrete entrance planters to provide a sense of arrival, wall mounted planters with climbing frames to break up the large monotonous facades and fabricated steel planters on top of concrete beams to allow ivy to drape above the car park. The decision to allow the raw concrete columns and beams from the commercial building that previously occupied the site to remain, allowed us to create hanging gardens to compliment the structures and provide much-needed greenery to an otherwise very raw site. With limited opportunities to provide green foliage at ground level distinctive freestanding pot and planter, options were designed and used in various combinations to provide a chic look that enhances the architectural and industrial history of the site.