A new adult day care centre in Hackney for people with high complex needs, including dementia and disabilities, together with a much needed secure garden area for variety of activities including growing garden facilities and secluded areas for people to sit and relax.
Client and Contract Period
London Borough of Hackney
March 2015 – August 2018
Project Objectives
Oswald Street Adult day care centre provides a variety of accessible safe spaces, where activities such as horticultural therapy and exercise can take place as well as calm, restorative spaces, all situated within secure boundaries, which offer choices of different routes, places to sit (including sun and shade) and a wealth of sensory experiences for people of wide range of cultural backgrounds. The landscape also includes clear and concise wayfinding strategies and visual cues in the landscape, crucial to encouraging and assisting people with dementia and PMD’s access to outdoor environments
Issues Challenges and Outcomes
The restricted site area provided design challenges to meet the client brief. Three existing mature trees were identified early on in the design process that should be incorporated into the landscape proposals. One of the trees required disabled parking to be sited within the root protection area due to restrictions of site area. Working closely with the Council’s Landscape Officer Arkwood designed an engineered tree protection solution to protect the A classified tree mature tree.
Retention and protection during construction of the identified existing trees and additional native hedge planting and understorey woodland planting enhance the biodiversity and ecological value. The project was rated BREEAM Very Good.
The vehicular access, parking and the majority of the courtyard garden incorporated porous hard surface materials to reduce surface water runoff.
Service user John Buffong who has transferred from the Trowbridge Centre to Oswald Street, said: “It is lovely. It is a lovely building and I will really enjoy sitting in the garden. I look forward to coming here.”
Services
- Landscape Design RIBA Stages 3 to 7
- Technical Design
