URBAN update update NEWSLETTER ISSUE 27 and can you believe we are half way through the year...

URBAN updateISSUE 27NEWSLETTER

and can you believe we are half way through the year already? Time simply flies by when you’re having fun, and as you can see from this issue, we had some fun at this

year’s eFIG National Awards ceremony. We mopped up a third of the awards given out, of which 15 were prestigious Gold Awards.We were also delighted to receive the Judges’ Co

Commendation for The Centre:MK, proving we are simply the best when it comes to indoor planting. Congratulations and a big thank you to all our teams concerned.

WELCOME

www.urbanplanters.com

PLANTS ENHANCE NATURAL FEELOF NEW £4M SPA

®

CONTENTS: Centrica; Crow Wood Leisure

Page 2: eFIG Awards 2013 – Crown Plaza Hotel; Grass Valley

Page 3: eFIG Awards 2013 – LeasePlan UK Ltd; News International

Page 4: eFIG Awards 2013 – E.ON; Hotel La Tour ; Vaillant Group Ltd

Page 5: eFIG Awards 2013 - Charlie & The Chocolate Factory; Hotel Indigo; Cobham Motorway Service Area; Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Page 6: eFIG Awards 2013 - Westfield Shopping Centre; Capital One; Kallo Foods; The Centre:MK

Page 7: Champneys Springs; TCP

Page 8: Royal Victoria Place; Trinity Shopping Centre

A private health club in Burnley has called on Urban Planters Stockport to create a planting scheme to compliment the natural décor in its new £4 million spa’s restaurant.

Crow Wood Leisure’s Woodland Spa restaurant is decorated in wood and leather and the planting scheme had to reflect the natural tones used, so containers in a natural textured finished seemed the perfect choice.

As the light levels vary considerably throughout the restaurant, Urban Planters carefully selected specimens such as Kentia palm, Beaucarnea recurvata and Dracaena fragrans ‘Lemon Lime’, each suitable for different positions around the room.

Urban Planters has taken on the maintenance of a vast 93-metre-squared living wall for energy company Centrica’s UK office at Oxford Business Park.

The wall, built by Biotecture, stands 11 metres high behind the reception desk and stretches up the height of the atrium.

Specimens in a range of colours and textures were used to create a wave pattern in the wall. To keep it looking fresh and vibrant, Urban Planters Oxford carries out a monthly maintenance programme, using a high-access platform to reach the upper parts of the wall.

LIVING WALL MAINTENANCE ON A GRAND SCALE


CROWNE PLAZA - SILVER LEAF AWARDDESIGN & INSTALLATION UP TO £5,000

GRASS VALLEYSILVER LEAF AWARDDESIGN & INSTALLATION UP TO £5,000

After creating an impressive, and eFIG-award-winning, scheme at nearby Alton Tower’s hotel, Urban Planters Birmingham were asked to design a scheme for the refurbished Crowne Plaza hotel at the NEC, when the manager of the theme park hotel moved across to the Birmingham hotel.

The brief was to create a sophisticated, contemporary scheme within a tight budget.

To achieve an expensive look for less, gloss planters were used, in black throughout the reception, corridors and lobby, to reflect corporate colours, while brighter-coloured gloss planters were used in the bar and restaurant areas, where the colour schemes of pink, orange and mustard allowed for a bolder approach.

The scheme has attracted positive comments from the client, staff and visitors alike.

When Grass Valley, formerly a client of Urban Reading, moved to new offices in Stockley Park, they asked Urban Planters London West to take on the maintenance of their existing plant displays.

However, the bright new offices really deserved a new scheme and Liz from Urban Planters London West, having seen the décor, suggested using the four tonal colours the designer had used in the office space.

Fibre glass pillar containers in lime green, linden green, aqua and jade, were selected, giving a soft and contemporary finish with architectural planting to enhance the modern office.

To make a statement in the boardroom, three bowls were used in three of the chosen colours on white plinths, the fourth colour was then used for the orchid bowl on the reception desk, completing a contemporary and cost effective scheme.

The client was delighted with how the colours pulled the whole design together.

Silver Award

Winner 2013

Silver Award

Winner 2013

Efig National Awards 2013


Efig National Awards 2013LEASEPLAN - GOLD AWARDDESIGN & INSTALLATION UP TO £5,000URBAN PLANTERS OXFORD

NEWSINTERNATIONALGOLD AWARD

DESIGN & INSTALLATION UP TO £5,000

URBAN PLANTERS NORTHAMPTON

A long-standing client, LeasePlan asked Urban Planters Oxford to create a new scheme for its refurbished reception atrium area, which would be small in scale but high on impact.

The solution came in the use of a glossy black container in a curvy shape, housing the same species throughout: Ficus microcarpa ‘Ginseng’. The plants were limited in number but were placed in positions with the highest impact, overall creating a scheme which punches well above its weight.

This global media giant tasked Urban Planters Northamptonshire to create a new planting scheme for the vast, airy reception area and walkways, which was both unusual and would also reflect the nature of their business. To achieve this, containers in red, white and black were chosen – representing the black and white of print, with the red giving a nod to the client’s red-top paper, The Sun.

Specimens used included Yuccas, to withstand the blasts of cold air as the reception doors opened and provide screening to the areas either side of the doors. Six large Dracaena reflexa ‘Song of Jamaica’ create an avenue effect along the downstairs walkway, and six Cycas revoluta were placed alongside the stairs. Upstairs in the informal seating area, three ‘S’ stemmed Ficus microcarpa ‘Ginseng’ add interest.

Gold Award

Winner 2013

Gold Award

Winner 2013

Efig National Awards 2013E.ON - GOLD AWARDDESIGN & INSTALLATION £5,000 - £10,000 URBAN PLANTERS NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

HOTEL LA TOUR - GOLD AWARDDESIGN & INSTALLATION £5,000 - £10,000URBAN PLANTERS BIRMINGHAM

VAILLANT - SILVER AWARDDESIGN & INSTALLATION £5,000 - £10,000URBAN PLANTERS NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

Long-standing client E.ON’s Nottingham offices were given a green makeover throughout by Urban Planters.

The design includes a fixed living wall in reception, mobile vertical systems in the restaurant and dense planting covering the top of the filing cabinets all creating lush green focal points to contrast the modern, white furniture.

In other areas in the building polystone containers brought the desired contemporary feel to the reception, and plants in granite troughs on the balcony create a relaxing break-out area for the staff.

Hotel La Tour has signed up Urban Planters to create a 4.5 by 2.6 metre living wall for its new four-star hotel in the heart of Birmingham.

The wall contains 250 Philodendron scandens, a vine with a heart-shaped leaf, and is surrounded by a white aluminium frame, to create a living picture in the hotel’s foyer.

When Vaillant moved into new offices in Belper, they contacted Urban Planters Nottinghamshire to create an internal planting scheme to both soften and compliment the modern and contemporary office layout.

The scheme was kept simple but to great effect: black gloss troughs on top of cabinets were contrasted with soft planting, while floor standing plants Sansevieria and Rhapis humilis added a sculptural look to the offices.

As the reception boasted some striking modern décor, Urban Planter’s Paul Rogers opted for a minimal use of plants, plus a sole bright white container hosting seasonal changes of plants, next to the reception desk – proof that sometimes less is more.

Gold Award

Winner 2013

Silver Award

Winner 2013

Silver Award

Winner 2013


Efig National Awards 2013

COBHAM MOTORWAY SERVICE AREAGOLD AWARDDESIGN & INSTALLATION OVER £20,000 URBAN PLANTERS LONDON SOUTH WEST

FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER GOLD AWARDDESIGN & INSTALLATION OVER £20,000 URBAN PLANTERS LONDON WEST

HOTEL INDIGO - GOLD AWARDDESIGN & INSTALLATION £10,000 - £20,000URBAN PLANTERS BIRMINGHAM

Urban Planters London South West has completed an installation at a brandnew motorway services on the M25 just one hour before it opened, afterconstruction works ran behind.

Cobham Services opened at 4am to the public with little sign of the flurry of activity to complete the work there, with the 9 large beds of planting in place among the new cafés and shops before the doors opened.

“Extra has been delighted with the service provided by Urban Planters. The inclusion of large and small foliage and plants at our newest motorway services site has created a relaxed and inviting ambience in the Food Hall, which is enjoyed by customers and staff alike, along with adding appeal and interest to the decor. We are extremely happy with the results.” said Jerry Storer, the Senior Operations Executive for Extra Motorway Service Area Group.

International law firm Freshfields is a long-standing client of Urban Planters London West and the scheme designed for their reception area won a Gold Leaf award in last year’s eFIG awards.

This year’s entry is a wide-ranging scheme for the client’s newly-refurbished lower-ground, ground, 5th and 6th floors, comprising a staff restaurant, meeting rooms and office areas, all centred around a large atrium.

The scheme around the Ground Floor atrium space includes a densely-planted bed of Alocasia encircling the Cafeteria/Breakout area, which, when viewed from above, creates an outer circle encapsulating the inner canopy circles of the Ficus nitida trees several floors below. The planting was also chosen to create a soft barrier and reduce the echo in the large, open space.

Elsewhere, meeting rooms and breakout areas boast plants in a range of distinctive contemporary style containers, which sit happily among the interior design throughout the building.

Gold Award

Winner 2013

Gold Award

Winner 2013

Gold Award

Winner 2013


Hotel Indigo is a new hotel in Birmingham which stands out from the crowd with brightkaleidoscopic colour schemes and ultra-modern décor. So, when Urban Planters were tasked with designing a new planting scheme for the hotel, they had to come up with something bold.

The resulting scheme includes pink tapered containers in thechampagne bar and white and black pillar-shaped planters of different sizes throughout the main areas of the hotel. Plants were also used as a natural barrier along the edge of the terrace, providing a safety feature without blocking the sweeping views across the city.

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY - GOLD AWARDDESIGN AND INSTALLATION £10,000 - £20,000URBAN PLANTERS DERBYSHIRE

Urban Planters Derbyshire was asked by Finesse Hotels to create a scheme for a confectionery company’s party in the theme of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

The party was thrown to celebrate Hancock’s 50th anniversary, and Urban’s Paul Rogers went to town to create the right look for the festivities.

The result was a scene straight off a film set: trees with chocolates hanging from the branches, plants in edible (chocolate) soil, replica grass mounds covered in bright flowers, wonky fencing and bright green and red planters holding replica spiral topiary trees.

Gold Award

Winner 2013

Efig National Awards 2013CHRISTMAS SPECIAL AWARD CAPITAL ONE - GOLD AWARDURBAN PLANTERS NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

KALLO FOODS - GOLD AWARDMAINTENANCE UP TO £2,500 per annum URBAN PLANTERS READING

THE CENTRE:MK - GOLD AWARDMAINTENANCE OVER £20,000URBAN PLANTERS MILTON KEYNES

Capital One has been a client of Urban Planters Nottinghamshire for 10 years and in the Spring, they asked for some fresh, contemporary ideas for their next Christmas scheme, while still maintaining a festive feel.

In order to ensure the client was completely happy with their proposal, Urban Planters set up a Christmas scheme in the April, using a 14ft tree with decorations in corporate colours along with other festive accessories, so that staff could feedback their thoughts.

Organic food company Kallo Foods is a long-standing client of Urban Planters Southampton and Reading, and when it recently moved to new premises in Surrey, it tasked Urban’s Fergus Belcher to design a new planting scheme for the new premises.

Fergus decided to bring colour to the offices by using red, yellow and orange planters throughout the office. He then created further interest by using a mixture of sculptural and softer-shaped plants.

The resulting scheme, which was installed in the November, included Christmas trees in the selected colour themes, Christmas tree-shaped lights, desktop displays and a mixture of live and replica trees for Santa’s grotto.

It’s been two years of hard work but the results are staggering: Urban Planters Milton Keynes took on the maintenance of a planting scheme in serious need of some TLC in August 2010 and has managed over time to bring many of the specimens back from the brink to full vitality.

The Centre:MK opened 27 years ago, and some of its more unusual plants have been there since then, including a 10m Banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis), a 10m Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera), eleven 12m Washingtonia filifera, and an 8m Baobab tree (Adansonia digitata), possibly the largest one to be found indoors anywhere in the world.

Although the original planting has put down strong roots (there are no foundations under the plant beds, so the roots go straight into the sub-soil underneath the building),when Urban Planters took on the work, many specimens were on their last legs.

“Nothing is too much trouble and no matter how many times I have changed my mind or come up with a new idea, Urban Planters have always been straight to it. They have a wonderful work ethic and no matter what work they have done they always leave the centre clean and tidy. We are truly fortunate to have found them,” said Jason Buckley, the centre’s Environmental Service Manager.

Gold Award

Winner 2013

Gold Award

Winner 2013 Gold Award

Winner 2013


WESTFIELD SHOPPING CENTREGOLD AWARD URBAN PLANTERS LONDON EASTDESIGN AND INSTALLATION OVER £20,000

As part of a wide-ranging scheme at the Westfield shopping centre in Stratford, Urban Planters have been revamping the existing planting with fresh specimens and containers positioned along one of the main walkways to the Olympics.

It was a very challenging brief that needed to evolve as the Olympics came and went, stand-up to exceptionally high levels of consumer interaction, withstand high wind levels, and at the same time create a softened environment to entice consumers to spend time in the area. All initial planting elements had to be removed from the location for the 6-week period of the Olympics, and then re-planted into the new permanent displays.

PLANTS BRIGHTEN EUROPEAN HQ FOR LIGHTING COMPANY

A MIX OF LUXURY AND RELAXATION FOR HOTEL SPA

Champneys - Hotel Spa


Urban Planters Leicestershire has recently designed a new scheme for a local hotel spa to mirror the luxurious feel of their recent redecoration.The refurbishment of Champneys Spring’s lounge and reception areas was designed to create a homely yet luxurious feel and they wanted new plants and containers to enhance the new look.

Containers in ‘Champagne Gold Leaf’ were the perfect choice for the free-standing plants, while two large Anthurium ‘Pink Joli’ displays add to the relaxed feel of the lounge and boutique areas.

Urban Planters were also tasked with replanting two fixed planting beds in an interior water fountain and pond area.

The brief was to keep it simple and clean, ideally with plants on stems, like mini trees. In the smallest bed Schefflera aboricola with a heavy stem create an avenue effect. In the main bed a mixture of planting was used, including large Ficus binnendijkii ‘Alli’ on stems, while Anthurium ‘Jungle King’ creates a low-lying display around the water.

Urban Planters Northampton were asked to expand their existing e-FIG gold award-winning scheme when their client moved to larger offices in Corby.

Corporate colours are red, black and white and the contemporary scheme integrates these throughout, both in the planters and plants chosen.

The client was particularly fond of the “River” bowls and pedestals and these were used extensively as the wavy lines on walls and glass partitions mirror those of the planters.

The newly-expanded scheme boasts a mixture of specimens including the Managing Director’s favourite Euphorbia ingens for his office, the PA’s Anthurium (her wedding flowers), toxin-filtering Spathiphyllum among the many computers in the general office area and a stunning Araucaria cunninghamii to suit the cooler, lighter reception area.

Two large Dracaena reflexa ‘Song of Jamaica’ trees planted in the unusual “Bursting” planters welcome people into the large boardroom.

The resulting scheme has been well received by the client and their customers.


National client Europa Facilities Management has asked Urban Planters North Kent to provide new planting for the Royal Victoria Place shopping centre in Tunbridge Wells, where a previous providers’ plants were beginning to look tired.

To improve the look and feel of the centre, a

range of plants were selected and planted into

50 very tall, round containers of varying height.

To draw shoppers into the entrance, Urban

Planters placed lollipop-shaped Buxus trees by

the doorway.

FRESH SCHEME……REVIVES SHOPPING CENTRE

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A new scheme at Trinity Shopping Centre in Leeds has called upon Urban Planters’ expertise on working at height and selecting the right plants for extreme conditions.

National client Land Securities contracted Urban Planters to create a planting scheme to run underneath the refurbished shopping centre’s glass roof five stories, or almost 100ft, from the ground.

The challenge was not only to design a scheme which would catch shoppers’ eyes from down below, but would also suit the high levels of light, lack of heating and exposure to the elements under the open-sided glass roof.

In addition, the installation took place during the refurbishment works, with the main points of access for installing the plants up through the atrium from the ground floor.

Using members of Urban Planters’ technical team fully trained in health and safety when working at height, a row of 110 artificial trees and oversized bay tree balls plus 60 live displays – mainly seasonal flowering displays – were carefully lifted into place and the resulting scheme creates impact while softening the expansive glass roof.

FROM WAY UP HIGHPLANTS CREATE IMPACT

URBAN update update NEWSLETTER ISSUE 27 and can you believe we are half way through the year...

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Transcript of URBAN update update NEWSLETTER ISSUE 27 and can you believe we are half way through the year...