Royal Forest Pennant Sandstone Hard Landscaping Complements New Build Eco Home
A selection of hard landscaping products from Forest Pennant has been used to complete a private residence in Abbots Leigh, Bristol. The new build, eco home has been designed and built to emulate the international Passivhaus standard, using very little energy for heating and cooling thus reducing the carbon impact of the property. The homeowners required soft and hard landscaping that would complement the architecture and aesthetics of the property, whilst enhancing the rigorous and enviable environmental attributes of the building.
The clients and owners, Simon Kiddle and Meg Joyce, had requested that a local natural stone be used to create the patio and pathways wrapping the property, as well as coping for the dry stone walling and steps leading up to the lawned area. Quarried in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire and indigenous to the South West of England, samples of Royal Forest Pennant sandstone were supplied by landscape architect, Reckless Orchard. The winning factor in the specification of the sandstone was its high-ranking environmental credentials. The Pennant sandstone is processed using energy produced by an onsite micro-hydro turbine, and as a result is certified to PAS2050 standard, making it one of the lowest carbon rated natural stone products on the market.
Reckless Orchard was tasked with designing an outdoor space that allowed the inside to flow out, maximising the full-height glazed doors running the length of the single storey living space.
A key part of the brief was the distinction of social, play and self-sufficiency areas, “…and we needed an environment that would work for us as a family,” said homeowner, Simon Kiddle.
“When you have the opportunity to create your own space you realise how important it is that you get it right. The landscape architect incorporated elements that worked for us as individuals and a family – from the lawned area for the children, giving them the space and freedom to play, to the vegetable patch, allowing us to meet our environmental and self-sufficiency objectives.”
“We also wanted a hard landscaping product that would stand the test of time, and you can’t get much more hardwearing than a stone that’s over 350 million years old!” said Simon. The Pennant sandstone provides a tonal and complementary cohesion between the stark lines of the render, glass, and wooden/metal strip cladding, and the natural shades and shapes of the planting, bark and grasses, before blending into the woodland beyond.
Project architect, Les Baker, managing director of Reckless Orchard, said: “We have worked with Forest Pennant on a number of schemes but this is the first time that we have used them in a residential scheme. The natural sandstone is not only of an exceptionally high quality but the products that the team produce are unrivalled in their attention to detail and accuracy. It was also important to the ethics of this project that we sourced locally and conscientiously, the credentials of the Forest Pennant paving product set it apart from anything else available in the region.”
Stand out features include the capping stones running adjacent to the granite-inlaid rill, atop random walling created from local limestone, creating a sensory water feature. Whilst the dimensions and tone of the capping blocks, steps and paving stones mimic the length and substance of the weathered sleepers, which form the vegetable beds and delineate the flower-filled borders. A balcony at first floor level on the wood and metal clad wing of the property also affords a near panoramic view of the garden with just a step out from one of the five bedrooms.
Managing director of Forest Pennant, Nick Horton said: “We took the decision to process our paving using green energy so that we could be the product of choice for those wishing to make a difference to the environment, and subsequently their lifestyles. Specifications, and the imminent Green Deal, mean that the industry as a whole is under pressure to perform and meet these demands but we are finding that it is less so in the private, residential sector. Simon and Meg are testament to how we could and should be building and living in the future, a few simple changes in the specification of products can make a real difference!”
