BOUND SURFACING colour and texture options , with natural gravel and crushed stone , marble and recycled glass , shells , bricks , and even bottles . The range provides almost limitless options for landscape architects , developers , and homeowners – from natural buffs and shades of terracotta to rich , vibrant primary colours .
To complete the bespoke butterflies the desired shape the zoo had in mind was sent out as a PDF template for us to explore their ideas and provide them with suitable options . Overall a simple butterfly shape was requested but with a twotoned colour effect to give the zoo ’ s pathways the extra wow factor !
To accomplish the best possible finish SureSet had the silhouette of the butterfly shape formed using an MDF CAD cutter , this allowed us to pay special attention to detail to the resin bound colour blending we needed to produce for such an amazing feature .
“ Using a pre-formed shape and installing colour work like this prior to the main installation is a great way to achieve bespoke work of a high quality , allowing our installation teams more time on the day to concentrate on the remaining areas , in this case , the natural gravel pathways .” Dave Shell | Head of Commercial Sales
Process / Execution For the butterflies , SureSet used a 3mm clear recycled glass from our Spectrum range . All of the glass SureSet use is tumbled and pigmented to a colour of your choosing , Wye Valley Zoo had a blend of blueberry pastel , vibrant sky blue to pool and mint green , daffodil yellow , traffic red , and for the wings our midnight black used for the main body of the butterflies .
There was one large silhouette of a butterfly in a bespoke “ Blue Blend ” which was designed to mark social distancing . The two smaller butterflies were in a beautiful blend of “ Green ” and “ Bright Red ” were designed to mark the direction that people should follow to guide them around the zoo .
The base used for SureSet resin systems was SureCell , this is an interlocking gravel cellular grid 40mm deep and filled with 10mm loose stone , it provides the ideal base for small areas whilst being durable and eco-friendly . SureCell can be laid directly onto a compacted stone and then in-filled with loose gravel , it provides an incredibly strong and stable surface which is ideal for a heavy footfall .
The 200m ² main pathways around the Butterfly Zoo was installed in “ Pearl Jam ” a 6mm Natural Aggregate stone that compliments the surrounding and really makes the brightly coloured resin bound butterflies to pop ! as well as guiding visitors through a butterflies life cycle from a tiny egg to walking around with them up close and personal in real life !
Follow us @ ludmagazine
www . landud . co . uk 45