Architectural Cladding
2020
MELBOURNE - VICTORIA - Australia
Private Client
THE GREENFIELDS
Isometric View Of The Gabion Walls and Facades
500 mm Thick Gabion Facade Around The Swimming Pool
Terraced Walls With Vegetation
Stairway Within Gabion Walls
Problem
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.
Solution
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.