BREIF: To design a means of accessing the garden to a new seating area. The design to respond to the 2.5m high bank rising almost immediately from the rear of the house.
DESIGN RESPONSE: Using rendered walls to retain the bank we directed the steps at 90 degrees to the bank. The walls were stepped rising up away from the house windows and doors. This allows open unrestricted views from the windows and as you first approach the garden. A hardwood decking was used which extended over the bank creating a large seating space which oversailed the bank hidden below. Planting was kept bold and easy to care for due to the limited access, summer colour from perennials is mixed in with the various structural Phormium tenax.