Thanks to Ross Pritchard of Pleydell Smithyman (specialist design and business consultancy) for this ringing endorsement:

“Piccadilly Gardens has a strong and bold design but it is apparent to us that there is a swell of support from the community to soften these hard edges. The local residents want to improve the sense of arrival to the town centre. Ross Pritchard of Pleydell Smithyman has therefore sought a sensitive way of respecting the original design whilst responding to the wishes of the community. The basis of the idea is to introduce a green wall system to break up the strong form that dominates the space. The intervention would add a softer more human scale to the edge of the gardens thereby making it more welcoming. There are many different ways of achieving this but the inherent complexity of the concept will become apparent as the project moves forward. The challenge will be introducing a new element to the gardens without compromising the simplicity of the overall design.

Green walls are ideal for the city centre environment as they provide a functional purpose as well as an aesthetic one. The structures enhance biodiversity by attracting various birds, butterflies and bees, and reduce pollution by removing particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide from the air. There are some really good examples up and down the country and are steadily becoming more prevalent. A great example of this movement in the market was the QR Code Garden at last year’s Chelsea Flower Show it achieved a Bronze Award and raised awareness of the various new green wall technologies. Pleydell Smithyman hope to continue support of this project over the coming months.”

ROSS PRITCHARD
Landscape Architect LMLI

For and on behalf of
PleydellSmithyman Limited
 

PleydellSmithyman

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