Swanbury Penglase have completed a secluded outdoor garden for Woodcroft College – a space where students can go to unwind.
The southern Adelaide Anglican school, which caters to students from Kindy to Year 12, recently moved the junior school administration building to the other side of the campus. They have retained and adapted the existing building into a new Wellbeing Centre. The adjacent entrance has been transformed by Swanbury Penglase into this tranquil wellness garden.
“Part of our brief was to ensure that kids could go into the garden if they were having a tough moment. They could sit on the garden furniture and have time to themselves,” says Margi Bartolo, Senior Landscape Architect at Swanbury Penglase.
The vision was to create a calming space. “We wanted to be really clear that it’s not a play space. That’s why we chose neutral tones of white and timber” says Margi. “We went with Surfmist Textura because it makes it harder for the kids to graffiti” she added.
As a stand alone space that is used less frequently, furniture needed to be low maintenance but also robust to the elements. Linea Curved Seats were specified with durable Textura Surfmist and Wood Without Worry battens in Spotted Gum. Textura is easier to clean than white gloss, when dealing with scuff marks from school shoes or a wandering pen. Movable Forum Chairs and a matching Cafe Table were also specified.
The two Curved Linea Seats have the standard internal radius of 1500mm. When placed next to each other, they have an armrest at either end. Both are freestanding so the seats can be moved around the circular deck from winter to summer, to make the most of the sunlight entering the garden.
“We created the design around circles because we wanted a sense of a gathering space. The circular decks were based on the circumference of your furniture [Linea Curved Seating], which we were able to get from the Tech Data Sheets. That was really great as it meant we were able to create a custom boutique deck specifically for the furniture.”
Early feedback from the College has been positive.
“They had kids in therapy, and the nurse had already popped out into the garden with a child during the day. So it’s definitely functioning as they anticipated.”
Margi personally enjoyed creating this tranquil space where, disconnected from technology, it’s okay to just relax and be at one with nature.
“That’s what we really like about your furniture. It’s so comfortable to be in. It’s not foreign, everything’s tangible and homely and the correct scale, but it’s durable.”
