Crome Court

• RICS National and Regional Design Through Innovation winner.
• A ‘unique and special landscape’ for post-graduate accommodation.
• Installation of a green wall for environmental and design impact.
• Sustainable drainage using swales.

We are on the construction design framework for the University of East Anglia and have worked on a number of projects for them.  We were invited to work on this new build postgraduate accommodation, with a brief to create a ‘unique and special landscape’ and a focus on sustainability and quality.

Crome Court is positioned within a well-developed part of the campus, close to public residences. The scheme involved the creation of a central courtyard space with a wider landscape setting for the new building. The central space is strongly overlooked allowing us to create a bold geometric design featuring a bespoke galvanised steel pergola.  We proposed a green wall to soften the exterior impact of the building on the residential areas nearby.  This was welcomed by the planners and became a significant feature of the planning application.  We worked closely with the building engineers to install a sustainable drainage scheme featuring ground water attenuation through the use of planted swales.

The height of the building meant that conventional planting using only immature trees would have lacked scale and effect for some years. So, with the support of the University we sourced and oversaw the planting of a semi-mature giant sequoia, which at 11m tall provides an immediate and spectacular impact.

The project was on a tight programme, turned around on site in just 12 months. Designing the landscape to a green and sustainable building of this scale was immensely rewarding. The scheme won the RICS National and Regional Design Through Innovation Award in 2015.

Contact us for more information regarding this project or how we can assist you with a similar requirement.