When putting together a hard landscaping scheme for external communal spaces in housing developments, many different elements need to be considered. Here we look at how the needs of the resident, the aesthetics, product functionality, and creating a design proposal all contribute to effective design.
As with any part of the housing development, who will live there will influence the design of communal hard landscaped spaces. Access to outdoor space has always been a priority for buyers but has become increasingly important for mental and physical health since the 2020 Covid pandemic.
The Future Homes Standard is coming into force in 2025. RIBA’s view on the regulation lays down the challenge for housing developers:
Solving today’s housing crisis not only means building more and better homes, but creating mixed-tenure communities fit for households that will be living in them two centuries from now.
It’s worth considering that many communal green spaces are kept pristine with the aid of signs stating ‘Keep off the grass’ & ‘No ball games’. However, well designed designated hard landscaped areas can give children a safe place to play and parents a space to forge vital community connections.
Accessibility is also a fundamental consideration – navigating hazards can be difficult for parents with pushchairs and wheelchair users alike. Wide paving, off-road parking, and dropped kerbs are a must. Older people will also welcome plenty of seating areas for resting and talking to friends and family, so they can maintain community connections.
There are other considerations too. Residents are becoming more aware of sustainability, so they want practical hard landscaping combined with planting schemes that increase biodiversity. Increasing impetus on a more sustainable approach to new housing also requires developers to demonstrate carbon emission reductions on-site and in the embodied carbon of the materials they use. Local planning requirements may also demand that the development be in harmony with the local countryside and complement existing buildings’ character and style.
This is often achieved by tying the scheme in with the wider development and using natural colours, textures, and shapes that blend with the local environment.
In the end, form cannot triumph over function. Hard landscaping materials such as retaining walls, block paving, kerb edging, paving flags, facing bricks, and permeable paving are utilised to provide the functionality element when managing outside spaces on-site. They help developers manage soil erosion, control drainage, create boundaries, define areas, and reduce maintenance of soft landscaping areas. To ensure the underpinning functionality is addressed, it makes sense to specify the following materials early in the design of any scheme.
Traditionally, housebuilders had two choices: gabion basket walls or a labour-intensive block and render approach.
Now, there are other solutions which can be much more cost-effective. Modular mortarless retaining walls are a prime example; they are stylish and can be installed by trades without specialist skills. As there are no mortar drying times, installation is relatively quick and easy.
When considering a new solution, it’s prudent to speak to manufacturers about the support they provide and whether ancillary products are needed to make the solution work. Many manufacturers of mortarless retaining walls overcome these issues by providing technical support that looks beyond their product to the whole solution. For example, by providing backfill calculations, they ensure that housebuilders and contractors have the full system costs up-front.
We found a new retaining wall product that seemed cost-effective and fast to install, but at the time, we didn’t realise the scope of the metalworks required for the installation. These had to be hand bent into shape which took six weeks, significantly adding to labour costs and creating delays on-site.
It is worth noting that the increasing prevalence of high intensity rainfall events in recent years has prompted owners of new build homes to post pictures of pooling on driveways, parking, communal areas, and roads on social media. If not carefully managed, such posts could impact the reputation of both the development and the housebuilder.
However, there is an alternative that allows rainfall to infiltrate the ground naturally – permeable paving. Depending on your local authority, permeable paving is suitable for adopted highways and private roads, as well as driveways, parking areas, and communal spaces, and helps to reduce the risk of flooding and pollution. Aesthetically, it looks almost identical to traditional paving and can be used on slopes with a gradient of less than 5%.
Having worked on a variety of high-profile public realm schemes including the London Olympics, Alistair Bayford, Managing Director at Frosts Landscapes, explains.
Let’s assume the designer acts as a genuine steward, committed to the long-term sustainability of the development. Unfortunately, the rationale behind certain design choices can often be overlooked when a property changes hands.
For instance, if a homeowner neglects to remove leaves from a Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS), silt can accumulate in the joints and bedding material, compromising the system’s design performance. In another case, a homeowner might remove vegetation from a front garden acting as a rain garden only to replace it with hard landscaping. Unintentionally, and without knowledge, affecting the performance of the designed system, subsequently blaming the developer for the issue.
It is crucial to evaluate the ease of maintenance of the design and consider whether the builder should provide guidance on proper upkeep of private spaces. For enduring success, design and specifications must be robust, emphasising the use of products and solutions that are straightforward and easy to maintain.
Concrete facing bricks can be used for the properties themselves, as well as for walling, providing a cost-effective alternative to clay bricks and natural stone. They also offer housebuilders a host of other benefits ranging from durability and quality standards to colour retention, reducing the likelihood of efflorescence and adverse environmental impact.
When choosing paving slabs, alongside the considerations of colour, texture, and laying pattern, it’s also important to decide whether they will be bound or unbound. Unbound paving is laid on sharp sand, costs less and allows for movement, ease of repairs, and quick installation. In contrast, bound paving is primed, bedded, and jointed with a cementitious mortar. It offers a long lifespan thanks to enhanced strength and durability, making it ideal for areas that will be subject to heavy loads. It also helps to prevent weed growth.
The final decision is the kerbs & edging which help protect the paving and finish the scheme. Housebuilders can choose kerbs that are textured, have an aged effect, and are smooth or tumbled depending on the placement and their requirements. There is also a wide range of colours available, including contemporary granite.
Busy housing developments often have pressure points that are subject to high levels of traffic, making durable, hard-wearing surfaces essential.
The challenge for designers and housebuilders, especially in the build-to-rent sector, is that the choice of finishes available for traditional materials such as tarmac or standard 200×100 block paving are limited and they may not withstand continual high usage, leading to failure.
However, there is an alternative in the form of highly durable concrete block paving products. These hard-wearing products combine vibrant long-lasting colours with natural granite aggregates to create a fresh, contemporary look and are suitable for communal areas and driveways.
Of course, as we touched on earlier when discussing SuDS schemes, functionality extends beyond a product’s specified performance and should encompass whether a solution is robust when maintenance and repair are also considered.
Consider a scenario where you specify a type of paving made from granite that is exclusively made-to-order. While this may be suitable for installation on a large housing estate, five years down the line, questions will arise regarding the feasibility of repairing it with the same product, especially when minimum order quantities and lengthy lead times are involved. It is far more advantageous to select a product that is readily available from stock.
Just as the design should consider the end-user, it is equally important to consider who will be responsible for maintenance and repairs. If you are specifying a premium solution, for instance, for a communal roof terrace that will be professionally maintained and has sufficient budget, you can certainly extend the proposal. However, for projects with tighter management budgets, it’s crucial to evaluate the potential implications of design decisions. Designers must adopt a strategy that aligns with the long-term custodian’s needs to ensure that hard landscaping solutions are sustainable, require limited management input and easily repaired.
Alistair Bayford, Managing Director at Frosts Landscapes.
Whether you are at the pre-planning, specification, or construction stage, once you’ve decided on the right products for your scheme, you’ll need to produce a hard landscaping design proposal to ensure that your vision will become a reality.
The proposal aims to give the contractor all the information they need to build your design. This can require a lot of information, including a design rationale for your scheme, section designs for paving, walling and kerbs, visuals showing how products, colours, and patterns interact, as well as laying patterns with colour mix ratios and specification details.
At Tobermore, we appreciate that collating and presenting this information together can be challenging for time-pressed housebuilder teams. With this in mind, we offer complimentary design support through our Hard Landscape Proposal service. As well as including all the information above, our design team will provide you with a mood board of concept images, a virtual project fly-through, and complimentary design advice for seamless planning.
Designed to simplify your decision-making process by offering tailored solutions for your specific project needs