THE GREENFIELDS

In 2006 the architect was approached to design a garden for a large property at the foothills of the Dandenong's in Victoria. a large home had just been completed and the client required a swimming pool and entertaining area. The site was very testing with heavy clay soils, excessive groundwater and 1:3 slopes all causing major design challenges.

The original concept was to canter lever a pool out from the sope with a negative edge and the city skyline being the focal point. The initial thoughts were to utilise masonry walls with a Wistow Stone cladding (from Mt Barker in South Australia) but 'way over budget' quotations were received, which priced the walls at somewhere in the vicinity of $250,000. This was unacceptable to the client and so the architect turned to the Gabion construction option initially to save money but also from a design perspective as the suited the tricky site. Geofabrics supplied Gabions are flexible, permeable and meet the design life requirements. Their woven Galmac (Zinc/Aluminium Mischmetal Alloy) wire construction and visual appearance complimented the modern architecture. The client was somewhat hesitant initially but with the saving in the region or around $150,000 he was more than happy to proceed with the Gabion option.