Play in the City
Combining play and sophisticated adult areas is not difficult in
country gardens with acres of space but the challenge for Garden
Designer Paul Dracott msgd, was to combine these two in a small city
centre garden.
Aura in Cambridge is a development kitchen with a play area to the rear
of section.
contemporary
townhouses
with small rear gardens. Paul was
commissioned by a family living The challenge was to separate
in a four storey town house with these two areas and keep the eye
double height glass fronted family within the first area whilst leaving
room and kitchen across the entire enough space behind for hockey
rear elevation. and football. The solution took
inspiration from the overlooking
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His brief was to create a dual use windows
garden with two zones; one for properties and the contemporary
adults and the other for sports play. architectural style and used random
On arrival at the initial meeting CorTen steel obelisks and walls clad
the client had already marked out in the same basalt as was proposed
the garden, splitting it in half, left for the terraces. These partially
and right. As the garden was wider obscured the play area but allowed
that in was deep, this would seem light through and brought in the city
sensible. scape beyond.
However, Paul’s design split the A narrow rill edged with Corten and
garden width ways and created fitted with three bubble jets acted as
an entertaining area across the a focal point, created reflection and
entire width of the family room and cut out ambient urban noise.
of
the
neighbouring