Landscape and Urban Design Issue 45 2020 | Page 22

LANDSCAPE SERVICES
EXCITING TIMES FOR
INDUSTRY LEADER
Over 50 years ago, a company in
Arundel, West Sussex, produced
a groundbreaking range of
polytunnels for commercial
horticulture. Continually
growing, they are now the UK
industry leaders in the design,
manufacture and installation of
inspired structures, ranging from
beautifully curved timber canopies
in nationwide visitor attractions
to industrial steel constructions
covering football pitches, ambulance
bays and hospitals. But they are not
stopping there.
Fordingbridge also produce preengineered
building frameworks
from their custom developed
Arundel factory. Garden centres,
exhibition buildings for Zoo’s, coffee
shops, even A&E wards. Their team
of structural designers work solidly
to ensure every calculation is on
the nose, ready for their craftsmen,
also in-house, to produce the
framework components. Their
approach to work, allows for the
rapid installation of impressive
steel and timber structures that
grace hospitals, leisure facilities
and schools up and down the
country. “We undertake all of
the pre-fabrication here, leaving
minimal disruption to the client
onsite,” explains Stephen Toone,
Managing Director of Fordingbridge.
“We prefab all of our structural
components offsite, meaning
that once the groundworks are
completed, the building envelope
can be erected in a small number of
weeks rather than months. It is great
to see the reaction from the client or
contractor when we get to work; our
process is seriously quick.”
And the buildings themselves are
far from the norm either. Working
to a goal of banning boring buildings
Fordingbridge excel in structural
timber as well as steel, creating
curves and lines that flow through
any landscape. “We have invested
in the technology and the people to
make buildings interesting again,”
Stephen says. “If you imagine a
standard brick building. You could
create interesting shapes, but
it can be expensive, has a large
carbon impact and takes time. Then
you need to make it fit with the
landscape. Now imagine having your
foundation laid and seeing beautiful
sustainably sourced timber curves
begin to grace the landscape in a
matter of days. Our approach allows
that to happen.”
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