Working with Southwark Council, Lendlease are regenerating the Heygate Estate in South London’s Elephant & Castle district to create a 3,000-home development that will be one the city’s greenest living spaces, centred around a two-acre park. The £2.3 billion project is due to be completed in 2025 and will provide ideal housing for modern families in the capital’s Zone 1 area. 

The South Gardens development consists of low-rise townhouses, mid-rise mansion blocks and a 16-storey tower block located around three beautifully landscaped and horticulturally rich courtyards. This inclusive and accessible space has been designed to give the friendly and comfortable feel of a small village.

Within the communal courtyards, flourishing green spaces are created using a wide variety of trees, shrubs and hedges. A family-friendly urban sanctuary, this community-oriented development is designed to imitate a woodland edge, featuring wildlife habitats and the opportunity for residents to forage for fruit or grow fresh food. Equipment to encourage children to engage creative doorstep play has also been incorporated into the scheme, alongside benches and decked areas. 

To create a harmonious blend of hard and soft landscaping, Rosa Waterstuck WF, Siena WF and Nero WF pavers from Wienerberger were used to create a matrix of meandering pathways running throughout the courtyard spaces.

This eye-catching blend of dutch-style clay pavers was flexibly laid in a herringbone pattern to replicate the appeal of a traditional cottage garden. The paving design inspires movement and enhances wellbeing, encouraging residents to appreciate the green space, whether they are strolling through on their work or school route, or spending quality time in the garden that is designed to be an extension of their home.

The red, buff and dark grey toned pavers were expertly mixed in different variations around the courtyard to blend in with the natural habitat and design features. Rosa and Nero pavers are used to complement the flora, fruit trees and garden furniture, with more and more of the lighter Siena pavers incorporated as the paths move round to the area featuring bamboo and pale wooden decking.

The project received top honours at the Landscape Institute Awards 2018, winning the President’s Award as well as the Small-Scale Development category award. 

Adam White, President of the Landscape Institute said: "South Gardens had such a high level of community engagement which must be praised. It provides a flagship case study of how a residential landscape can become an urban sanctuary – inclusive, ecologically rich – with a philosophy that places the community, wellness and ecology at its heart through genuine placemaking, environmentally sensitive planting and meticulous landscape design."