Page 9 - LandscapeSAIssue113

PROJECT

From the outset, the design approach was to have these courtyards Irrigation
act as refuges and healing spaces. The site has been carefully designed in order to harvest stormwater
from the building and hard surfaces that form part of the landscape,
In the ground floor courtyards, raised planters were introduced to by means of an attenuation pond.
break up the horizontal plain and provide a sense of grounding.
Different paving and hard surface finishing materials were introduced The irrigation system was adapted accordingly, in order to tap into
to slow people down within the courtyards, as well as to provide visual the attenuation pond via a submersible floating pump used solely for
interest when viewed from above. Scattered furniture and pots also irrigation. A custom skid allows the pump to adjust to the available
add to the visual interest and give the courtyards a more human scale. water level and it will automatically switch off once the level is below
the required functioning level.
Seating clusters and pots are strategically placed in ‘negative’
spaces to create places of rest, and screens and hedges have been In the case of poor rainfall and limited water in the pond, the
incorporated to impart a sense of privacy. Evergreen planting was system can be switched over to a secondary municipal connection.
mainly used in order to have year-round greenery, building on the Depending on the water source (attenuation pond or municipal
concept of healing landscapes. connection), the actual system starts at three 10 000 litre storage
tanks, from where a second pump distributes it to the various
The first and second floor courtyards have been finished with tiles irrigated zones.
with a warmer tone, softening the horizontal plain and giving a sense
of warmth as these courtyards are exposed to less sunlight. The tile The entire landscape has been divided into zones that are remotely
design has also been set out so as to break up the horizontal plain and controlled by a panel at the main guardhouse. Each zone has been
provide further visual interest. As with the ground floor courtyards, designed according to the type of planting in that zone, thereby
scattered furniture and pots have been introduced to create places of ensuring water efficiency. The control panel also receives information
refuge, and evergreen planting has again been used for year-round from a rain and wind sensor. The rain sensor has been installed to
greenery to build on the concept of healing landscapes. prevent the system from irrigating if rain occurs, avoiding water
wastage. The wind sensor gives feedback to the control panel in order
The landscape installation was undertaken by Greenacres Landscapes. to prevent irrigating in strong winds and avoiding water wastage.

Raised planters in the ground floor courtyards are used to break up the horizontal plain. Different paving materials were introduced to slow people down and
provide visual interest when viewed from above. Pots add a more human scale to the courtyards.

The hospital has an attenuation pond to capture rain water, and water holding The photovoltaic solar energy generating system is one of the many
tanks for storage environmental sustainability features installed, contributing two gigawatt
hours of electricity each year. Photo supplied by MNA.
Information supplied by MNA on behalf of Netcare Alberton Hospital, and Theo Bredell of Insite Landscape Architects. Photos by Connall Oosterbroek n

Landscape SA • Issue 113 2022 7