Page 8 - Landscape-Issue128

PROJECT

anya de Villiers of CNDV Landscape Architects was briefed by the
client to use only bricks as the paving material on both the roads
Tand sidewalks, and these all had to be sourced from the above-
mentioned brick factory. This meant a very minimal colour palette but
the factory produced special size ‘klompie’ bricks for the project, so that
despite limited colour, CNDV had texture variation to work with. The
landscaping was required to unify a variety of old and new buildings on
the site, and be plain and reserved, according to de Villiers. Some of the
plant material used had to come from an old nursery on the site.
Design philosophy
The design is intentionally reserved and formal within road edges, as the
landscaping had to create a unifying element between various building
typologies, although each road is defined using a different tree type. The
formal road sections will be offset by informal and mixed ‘naturalistic’
planting within future parks, pedestrian corridors, swales and wetlands.
The entrance has a large reflection pond as a bold entrance feature,
which also takes storm water into a future swale system running
alongside Bottelary Road.
The greater site has a large degraded wetland which will be restored.
Part of the philosophy for the overall site is that storm water will be fed
off developed areas into two swale systems which follow the natural
low points of the site. One would be a central swale system, linking
pedestrianised parks and green spaces towards the large wetland and
natural open spaces to the north. The other swale system would be
located as a soft edge to Bottelary Road, and would be mostly a natural
wetland habitat. The shallow reflective pond at the entrance also serves to take stormwater into
The extensive swales and ponds will also serve as an environmental the future swale system along the edge of Bottelary Road
offset to replace wetland habitat lost during construction, thereby
serving both an aesthetic as well as a functional purpose.

Soft and hard landscaping
Trees and plants selected were those with low maintenance
requirements, and were chosen from an indigenous palette. There was
also a requirement to use existing trees and plants from the nursery on
site.
Plants for the shaded internal courtyard spaces were specifically
used for their ability to grow in shade, whilst the trees were selected
to be ‘tall and skinny’ to create a forest feel. These were craned in over
the buildings after construction was complete. The internal forested
areas have indigenous trees and forest plants, and only the climbers
(Parthenocissus sp) are not indigenous. They were used to add fast
growing vertical greenery to quickly cover the high brick facades.
For the hard landscaping, a lot of brick was used, laid in a variety of
patterns and textures. Signage, bins, benches and bollards were all
specially designed for the project by CNDV Landscape Architects. Lights,
light bollards and uplighters are used to ensure safety, but avoid light
spillage.
Installation
The installation was undertaken by Attie van der Merwe of VIP Gardens,
who received a silver award in the 2023 SALI Awards of Excellence. The
project was entered in the category of Landscape Construction with
Design by Others.
Text and photos supplied by CNDV Landscape Architects
Wide bicycle paths are included along the main boulevard

Alberto Drive, as well as sidewalks, had to make use of the local brick. Uniform
Old buildings (on left) and new ones are unified by a relatively uniform hedges and five lines of trees were used to create avenues for vehicles, cyclists and
landscape design pedestrians. Signage was custom-designed for the project by CNDV.

6 Landscape SA • Issue 128 2023