Electrical Contracting News (ECN) July 2017 | 页面 25

PROJECT
FOCUS
volume. Artifi cial grass provides a chequer
board contrast to the travertine segments.
‘Creating this garden was a highlight
for our design studio,’ says Stephen
Woodhams. ‘Clever use of Treillage
provides a French theme to the space,
further enhanced by planting a series of
tree ferns, to represent palm trees on the
Cote d’Azur.’
Relaxation and outside dining
The lower section of the garden is used
for relaxation and outside dining. As the
kitchen opens up directly onto the lower
terrace, the same stone for the garden
tabletop was used in the kitchen worktops
creating an echo between the inside and
outside spaces. Travertine paving detailed
into the lower decking provides a contrast
in fi nish and looks like an inset dining rug.
At night the garden is completely
transformed with subtle and cleverly
integrated lighting by Design Plus Light.
Low glare uplighting highlights the
columns to emphasise the architectural
structure of the raised garden. Recessed
uplights highlight the arched trellis,
drawing the eye to the end of the garden.
The mirror refl ects the colour changing
bubble water feature – further emphasising
depth. Spike spotlights concealed in the
planter beds light the tree ferns and
provide a soft refl ected light back into the
space. Each vista is beautifully framed
by focusing the light on the structural
elements and on key planting elements.
‘One has to be very careful when lighting
gardens to ensure that you don’t end up
with a great deal of contrast,’ explains
Sanjit Bahra, founder of Design Plus Light.
‘Successful landscape lighting uses layers
of light to build a scheme that uses both
light and shadow to create the atmosphere.’
Stunning lighting effect
A mirror at the end of the central vista
leads the eye into the garden with majestic
trellis columns framing the view. The four
quarter segments around the water feature
are for seasonal planting whilst boxwood
balls give all year round structure and
Design Plus Light carefully detailed a
LED striplight to the base of the glass
balustrade to create a stunning lighting
effect, which was frosted so that it picked
up the light. When looking out from inside
the house, this edge lighting looks more
and more spectacular the higher up you go.
Old olive trees in cream pots are softly lit
with small LED spotlights that highlight the
gnarled trunks. A sliding glass roof gives
access to the swimming pool and spa in the
lower fl oor. At night this is softly backlit to
provide a glow to the seating area.
‘Mirror
panels
refl ect the
space to add
depth and
echo the
feel from
the garden
below.’
Spike spotlights
concealed in the
planter beds light
the tree ferns
and provide a soft
refl ected light back
into the space.
The glass balustrade continues around
to ensure a completely child friendly space.
Mirror panels in the lower section refl ect
the garden to give a greater feeling of
light and space. The lighting provides a
more intimate and luxurious feel at night
to showcase a spectacular multi-layered
townhouse garden.
The space was maximised to create
four distinct areas: Central seating
area, lounging, bar & BBQ and dining.
Mirror panels refl ect the space to add
depth and echo the feel from the garden
below. Concealed LED striplights provide
refl ected light into the space and make
the mirrors appear to fl oat off the timber
panelling. Small LED spotlight highlight
the Perspex box water feature and the
central coffee tables. LED uplights
illuminate the cream pots revealing
the structure and form of the boxwood
planting above. Spotlit olives create a lit
canopy above the seating area and the
kitchenette and bar are concealed behind
doors in the chimneystack recesses.
Concealed LED striplights make them
glow like sculptural niches, while the
discrete lighting on the rooftop creates
an ambience for relaxing and enjoying the
sunsets over London.
‘I love the play of contrast that we
achieved on this rooftop terrace,’ concludes
Sanjit Bahra. ‘Alternating between
uplighting the sides of the structured
cream pots and then spotlighting the
olive trees leads the eye along a playful
vista across the terrace. It’s tricky to
illuminate planter beds as the planting
often overwhelms the light fi ttings leading
to harsh spots of light. In this instance we
chose to conceal a LED strip in the front
of the planter that softly lit the foliage and
grasses that tumbled over.’
July 2017 | 25