This tiny entrance courtyard of one of the the restored heritage buildings of ‘the gantry’ in Camperdown has to be one of the smallest and awkward spaces we’ve designed for. With less than 2m by 4m floor space on different levels and surrounded on 3 sides with 6m walls, we had to ensure the space was not only interesting from the entrance and lower level lounge & dining room, but from the 2nd and 3rd levels that looked out onto, and down into the space. Oh and from the street. Thankfully Matt & Jen were open to our ideas of installing beams and using lots of chains….
Matt & Jens brief was quite literally that – they liked the idea of green walls, cascading plants (not just green, please) and had to provide some interest from the street through the entrance door and window.
We all agreed that we didn’t want an ‘out of the box’ greenwall.
As the building is a converted pottery factory and warehouse, we wanted to pay respect to not only its architectural and structural heritage, but also its historical use. We installed 2 structural beams referrencing the existing open, gabled roof to support lightweight planters to house a ‘waterfall’ of plants that would soften the brick walls and provide interest from the many levels of the home. To provide complimentary and additional aerial plants, we suspended hand made ceramic pots from steel chains at varying heights.
To further green the space we added a variety of contrasting foliage textures and sizes from ground level potted plants.
Though primarily a small transition space from the street to the home, we wanted to add a recreational element by using a beautiful piece of recycled blackbutt timber to create a morning coffee bench, again suspended it with chains.
To be completed in 2 phases – we’ll be working with the guys again soon to add some additional elements and plants – stay tuned!