The sheltered courtyard garden is the green heart of the scheme and offers residents a communal outdoor amenity area and natural light for the new buildings and the existing neighbouring ones. The result is a restful and safe space, a respite from the hullabaloo nearby and a place to meet neighbours but also with quieter lacunae to retreat from them. A small sculptural play area is located at the northern area of the courtyard catering to younger residents.

Each ground floor apartment has its own small garden with a gate onto the shared space. Materials are deployed to create a domesticity such as a smaller
unit brick for paving and for the private garden walls. Accent planting includes Gaura lindheimeri ‘Alba’, Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus and Agapanthus ‘White Pixie’. In contrast we designed a concrete communal table, paced at the centre of the scheme offering residents the opportunity to meet there and socialise. Much of the courtyard is over basement and we sought to design a ‘self-draining’ courtyard using gravel edges and open joint paving to eliminate surface drainage clutter which would spoil the domestic garden vibe.