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Blooming fabulous

Thursday 8th July, 2021

The award-winning landscape design that we created for the Moneypenny HQ in North Wales is now a whole five years old. We’ve kept in touch with the team at Moneypenny to find out if their employees were still enjoying the grounds for picnics, fruit picking and lunchtime strolls. And they have reported back that the landscape grounds are flourishing!

The planting is now more mature, with hundreds of trees providing shade, habitat and food for both birds and insects, and the long swaying grasses giving texture. We also ensured that hundreds of seasonal bulbs were planted for a year-round cheerful colour. Ten saplings establishing well were taken from a 500-year oak tree that was already in the grounds, ensuring its heritage lives on for many more years.

The landscape was designed primarily for the employees to enjoy and provide a solace from a busy working day. Apples, plums, damsons and black cherry trees were planted throughout the grounds and are seeing their fruit starting to grow. We love that picnic blankets and picnic baskets are provided to the staff for full lunchtime enjoyment in the meadow.

The site was designed to grow and evolve, providing a stunning setting for many years to come.

But how is the landscape faring five years on?

Chief Operating Officer at Moneypenny Ceri Henfrey told us: “Over the last five years, it has been amazing to watch the gardens mature and transform into somewhere our team can really enjoy, whether that’s relishing in a picnic at lunchtime or a simple re-charge of the batteries in the fresh air of the woodland walk or stopping in at the allotment to see how the veggies are coming along. It’s grown and bloomed fabulously providing the perfect habitats for the busy wildlife and a haven for everyone at Moneypenny.”

Director Phil Hepworth from AEW Architects, who designed the new HQ, added: “It’s great to see employees enjoying their building and the landscape now it has matured greatly.”

Moneypenny is a telecoms provider based in Wrexham in North Wales and regularly features in the Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For. The brief for the large landscape project was to create a landscape in the 10 acre grounds that was relaxing and enjoyable for the company’s employees.

After the project was completed, Moneypenny won the British Council for Offices’ Award for the North of England and CW Studio was a finalist for the Society of Garden Designers Awards in 2019.

Photo credit: Tom Biddle Photography

Smart phone screen showing AR and Lowry Centre

Working in a new reality

Monday 4th November, 2019

by Anna Beatham

Recently, I stepped out of the office and into the virtual world to create a 3D Lowry inspired painting that appears when using augmented reality and a specialised app.

I learnt how to use virtual reality and augmented reality in the design and programming of public spaces, a fascinating CPD ran by Mark Jackson of Place Jam and Dr Jessica Symons of Visioning Lab.

As technology advances, our connection to and interaction with public spaces changes.

Technology can now enhance our experience of a place and create new ways of interaction with the landscape – just look at Pokemon go!

Our view of reality will one day be a more prominent blend of technology and nature where individuals can connect to the city through virtual experiences. Elements such as history, heritage, art and navigation can be brought alive through a virtual plain.

Hopefully this will increase use of spaces, encourage people to be more active and engage and empower communities.

Pumpkin carving competition

Pumpkin Carving Competition

Thursday 31st October, 2019

We had a pumpkin carving competition in the studio at XYZ… and we won! Much fun had by all. 

Check out our saved story ‘Halloween’ on Instagram for our winning design (surprisingly it features trees…)

Handprints

Wednesday 20th February, 2019

These precious handprints have been created by some of the children at Claire House Children’s Hospice in Clatterbridge. We are creating a garden for the hospice on behalf of Greenfingers Charity and will be including these handprints in a colourful canopy called the Creation Station. What a special project this is to us.

Church Wharf Unveiled

Friday 11th January, 2019

Currently at the pre-application stage, plans for Church Wharf, a new £150m neighbourhood in the heart of Bolton, have been unveiled. We have been working closely with Muse Developments, Bolton Council and AEW Architects to create a landscape masterplan to support this residential-led mixed use development including around 320 homes as well as the potential for a hotel, offices, and ground-floor retail and commercial space.

The landscape includes proposals to restore a modified channelled river and create a distinctive place incorporating a river walk, viewing platforms and a terrace with seating steps down to the water.

A public consultation will be held later this month followed by a planning submission in spring.

SGD Finalist 2019!

Friday 28th September, 2018

We are absolutely thrilled to announce that we’re a finalist for the Society of Garden Designers Awards 2019 for Moneypenny HQ! Even more reason for us to dance into the weekend…SGD-finalist-2019_saved-for-web

SGD Award Winner!

Monday 5th February, 2018

So THRILLED to win an award at the Society of Garden Designers Awards for our Hale Garden design, what an honour! Thank you SGD, and thank you Hardscape for hosting, and thank you Green-tech for presenting the award. Chuffed to bits!

SGD Award Finalist 2017

Thursday 28th September, 2017

We are SO EXCITED to be named as a finalist for the Society of Garden Design Awards 2017. We have been shortlisted in the Paper Landscapes category for the Hale Garden in Cheshire, read more about it here

Chuffed to bits!

Alder Hey Bereavement Centre finalist

Monday 14th August, 2017

We are so thrilled to have been part of the brilliant design team, led by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, that was shortlisted to design a new centre for bereavement counselling services for those affected by the death of a child within the Alder Hey Health Park in Liverpool.

It was such a special project that could not fail to touch your heart. We designed a landscape that aimed to provide a sheltered and reflective refuge, offering a place to grieve and escape and to connect people with nature.

The image above is by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios. More on the scheme here and here.

HRH The Prince of Wales visits Moneypenny!

Monday 17th July, 2017

The Prince of Wales officially opens Moneypenny’s headquarters, seen here walking through the verbenas and flowering grasses at the entrance. We are very proud!

Photograph: Moneypenny

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