“Space for Family and Friends”

RLA were commissioned to work with architects Studio Ambacht and our client to reimagine the landscape design of an extensively refurbished and remodelled 1960s home in Dublin.

The gardens have been designed as a series of outdoor rooms that follow the movement of the sun. The material palette is made up of weathered steel, concrete and wood with an 'impressionist' style planting scheme to add beauty and joy throughout the seasons.

An existing blue cedar tree stands proud in the garden offering a focal point and strong compositional element from which the design borrows its cues. Linear strips of polished concrete add a sense of space and added perspective between the house and tree with the added benefit of becoming a playful element for young kids to bounce and throw balls from. A living willow tunnel provides screening to the trampoline stimulating further play and imagination whilst the adults have a defined outdoor dining area and series of raised beds to grow vegetables and herbs.

To the rear of the house a stepped terrace connects the house to the mews offering a variety of informal seating elements to suit play and entertainment amongst the lush planting of pollinator friendly flowering perennials and slow growing multi stem japanese maples.

The childs 'bird house' is located to allow those inside the house to keep a keen eye on the children and for the kids in turn to spy on the occupants of the Mews and the world beyond their own space.