Ground Control unveils new project at Kew Gardens
BALI Registered Contractor member Ground Control unveils its most ambitious Design and Build Project to Date with the New Children’s Garden at The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
On the 18th May 2019 the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew launched its new Children’s Garden to the public, a unique and world class destination play landscape. The garden, covering an area of 10,000m2 has been brought to life by Ground Control Ltd and has taken forward Kew’s vision to complete the detailed & technical design and construction of the project.
The garden is themed around ‘What Do Plants Need to Grow’ and has taken its inspiration from encouraging children to experience and build a long-lasting relationship with nature through the creation of a play garden rather than a playground with plants in it.
Ground Control were appointed to the project in March 2017 and demonstrates the effective collaboration of our in house team of Chartered Landscape Architects and awarding Construction teams to deliver a Children’s Garden described by Richard Barley, Head of Horticulture, Learning and Operations at Kew as “not only the best Children’s Garden in the UK but one of the best in the world”.
Working collaboratively with Kew to realise this exciting project within its unique setting, the scheme showcases bespoke and engaging play environments split across the different character zones of Air, Earth, Sun, Water and Pine Tree Wilderness orientated around Oak Tree Circle, a 4m high walkway around the 200 year old existing Oak.
Work on the Children’s Garden began on site in October 2017 with the implementation of the gardens service infrastructure and framework from which the individual garden zones have developed with the design tailored to maximise the play value in every intervention made. This process rings true to Ground Controls ‘can do’ and collaborative approach to projects effectively working with Kew to complete the gardens hard landscaping, play and landscape features that have since been complimented by the new soft landscaping of over 100 mature trees and 18,500 plants designed and installed by Kew.
The play and landscape features have been sympathetically set amongst the maturity of the gardens existing trees, some of which are TROBI trees of national significance. The sensitivity of these surroundings required Ground Control to draw upon its experience and arboricultural consultancy capabilities to sympathetically design, specify and construct the scheme around the existing trees and adopt specific working methods including screw piles, hand excavation and full raised construction.
Should you wish to find out any additional information on the Children’s Garden and Ground Controls Design and Build approach and services please do not hesitate to contact Anna Slater (details below).
Ground Control Ltd in brief
Established in 1973, Ground Control is a “can do” company founded on the core principles of delivering quality results and an outstanding service to customers. They are a multi-award winning external solutions provider, offering a fully comprehensive service to single and multi-site clients across a variety of divisions and sectors. ”Our professionals offer a truly national service that covers the length and breadth of the country, serving thousands of commercial sites, 365 days a year”
Ground Control offers a full set of Professional Services, (Including a Chartered team of Landscape Architect’s, Ecologists and Arboricultural Consultants); award winning, BALI registered landscape construction services and design and build. Design and Build provides a client with the unique opportunity to engage and collaborate with a single contractor with both design and delivery knowledge and experience with a reputation for delivering high quality, complex and cost effective schemes.
Anna Slater
PR Manager, Ground Control Ltd
E: anna.slater@ground-control.co.uk
Tel: 07811 2777 47