This project was carried out in 2008. The design brief was to redesign an outdoor space centered around a new pool that had been installed a short time before. My aim was to provide a good indoor / outdoor flow and make the area feel seamless once the large access doors from the residence were open.
To this end, extensive decking was planned, and natural stone was chosen as the paving option. The clients were very keen on the natural look and in keeping with this theme, i incorporated large schist rocks (to match the schist used in the paving) as features, both around the pool as a diving plinth / seat and also in the deck, again used as extra seating or 'table'. The effect has worked well and the tactile nature of the rock contrasts well with the surrounding medium.

This was a residential commission, which was completed in 2007, in Pukekohe, South Auckland.
The clients brief was to produce a concept that would utilise the small outdoor space available as an entertaining area, as well as providing a natural foil to the strong lines of the modernist architecture of the new home. The client also specified colour to be kept to a minimum, with their colour of choice being shades of green. With this in mind, i focused more on contrasts of texture and differing shades in the green spectrum. The angular lines of the architecture were also the catalist of ideas, culminating in the modernist water feature - lit at night with green LED units - of course!

This project was first started in May 2006 (see Trends article "Down the Garden path" in the articles section) and is on a residential section in Tuakau, South Auckland. The clients had seen some previous work i had done and were keen to develop the section , into something that they could be proud of. The beauty of this site was that it allowed the viewer the ability to gain to see the concept from a 'birds eye' aspect, a totally different experience from being within the garden space itself. I wanted the environment to be interacted with - hence the stone paved / pergola areas, which gave a different view of the space, depending upon which one was used. The slope of the site also lent itself to creating a moving watercourse, which brings the birds and gives movement and sound to the space. The end result has been a huge transformation from what i first encountered (as the image shows ) and will continue to evolve as the garden matures.