St George Wharf

 

Project Overview

Client: St George (South) Developments
Landscape Architect: Broadway Malyan
Project Value: £1m
Build Time: 2011

Winner of a British Association of Landscape Industries BALI National Award 2011 in the ‘Hard Landscaping Conctruction, Cost Over £1.5 million’ category.

 

The Brief

The development comprises of several blocks of high class apartments with panoramic views over Westminster and London. The development prides itself on its prestigious landscaped environment which complements the 275meter river walk offering restaurants, bars and office accommodation. St Georges Wharf is acclaimed for its lifestyle and is one of the most sought after developments in London.

Elite Landscapes were contracted by St George South London to undertake the hard and soft landscaping of the external footprint of the Block A Development and the Refurbishment of three internal courtyards on the site known as Courtyards 1-3. The works were predominantly hard landscaping and included groundworks/lighting co-ordination, podium slab waterproofing, roof garden construction, Granite/Slate Water feature/sculpture installation, granite paving including radial banding, granite clad planter formation, Radial bespoke timber seating, concrete paving, reconstituted Stone clad planter construction, Supply and installation of large location signage and litter bins, topsoil supply and infilling  and planting of beds, irrigation and aftercare maintenance.

Overcoming Challenges

As with any site, unexpected issues are inevitable. Thanks to the quick thinking and expertise of our hard working team, such problems are quickly overcome and solved.

The site is situated on the corner of a very busy interchange just outside Vauxhall Tube Station hemmed in by Vauxhall Bridge Road and Nine Elms Road. The logistics of material delivery scheduling were very demanding and exacting. The transporting of materials within the site was also very difficult as there was no tower crane access and within the courtyards we were working in live public areas. The works were also undertaken to the highest health and safety standards.

The scheme was mainly constructed on a waterproofed podium deck on two levels. The circular granite clad and slate interior water feature were fully constructed as part of our contract works and all design development of the completed feature, including the lifting in and securing of the stainless steel sculpture, were challenging aspects of the construction works. Concrete beam retaining walls were also constructed with the complication of noise/vibration restrictions due to the locality to the London Underground Tube Lines.

All granite works were pre-designed and approved before manufacture in China and then shipping to England for fixing including curved banded black granite and curved copings for the water feature. The interface with the existing street paving was also technically exacting when blending in old and new paving and working in confined locations due to heavy public usage of the area on a daily basis.

The Finished Project

The installation of this landscape scheme has vastly improved the landscape environment around the Vauxhall area and is proving a great success with local residents and businesses. The residents have a beautiful and creative landscape to look down on and to use in a functional way for relaxing within a busy city atmosphere.

“This scheme was very demanding and exacting and St George Developments expected strict phased handovers of landscaped areas to pre-determined dates – a quality landscape scheme well executed”

— Marcus Blake, Project Director, St George Developments