APRIL 2011 |www.opp.org.uk


BUSINESS


subconsciously, is what sells a place to them. “So ... my advice to developers is don’t skimp on the landscaping costs.” “Listen to what your landscape


architect has to say. A good one will challenge the masterplanner’s and the architect’s plans.” “These days too many contractors


come up with safe solutions – or they have a signature design they impose on all their projects. We at RSA like to think differently, outside the box, and to treat each project individually.” Siddeley, who is publishing


his first book, entitled Garden, with a foreword by David Linley, following a successful 35-year career to date, picks Stourhead


“Mitigating environmental impact needs to take place long before construction commences”


in Wiltshire as his favourite estate. “It’s particularly good in spring,” he says. “When there’s a plethora of bluebells, magnolias, rhododendrons and camellias in bloom. I love the follies too, which are dotted around the estate. It’s an amazing, magical place.” Siddeley, 57, lives and breathes


his work. He says he never tires of it. “I would spend my last days in the garden,” he says. “If I have a philosophy it is to


interpret and not to impose on a client. At the end of the day they have to live with the garden I’ve created. My job is to coach out of them what they want, challenge why if necessary and then deliver the vision.”


The same principles apply if he


is working on a private garden or a commercial scale development. Siddeley notes that in a sustainability context the landscape component plays an increasingly significant role in contemporary resort and community development. Once, landscaping meant making the environment look attractive for our pleasure. These days, it has multiple


functions beyond how pleasing it is on the eye. Good sustainability practices


include remediating contaminated land (brown field sites) to build on, rather than virgin (green field) sites. Not to develop on land that has specific ecological features of interest, be they flora or fauna. Ideally, an environmental impact assessment (EIA) will be carried out. In many countries it is now a legal


requirement for one to be undertaken before planning permission is grated. Mitigation of a development’s


environmental impact is of paramount importance – this needs to take place long before construction commences. Such factors to take into account include a development’s long-term impact on biodiversity. For example, how many native species may be driven out of their natural habitat by the impact of the construction of a resort, never to return. Also ... how many trees will need to be felled – and is that necessary at all – to develop? Other factors to be taken into consideration – amongst a dozen or so issues on land use and ecology that BREEAM prescribes be addressed – include water conservation through the planting of drought tolerant native species, and the implementation of a SUDS (sustainable urban drainage system) or natural soak ways. Landscaping will need to be


considered to mitigate rainwater run off caused by the altering of natural water paths through construction. Examples of good ecological


practices are those being undertaken at developer Pafilia’s Minthis Hills resort, near Pafos, Cyprus. The Sustain Worldwide member’s masterplan has been created a harmonious balance between contemporary design and the environment by carefully integrating the development into the landscape to preserve and enhance the natural features, minimise site intervention and maximise views. The private residences have been carefully


positioned along the natural contours of the land to protect the hilltops and ridges. Contractors, who are exclusively local, must work on designated paths to avoid trampling flora, and earth will only be moved where essential and will be reused onsite so there is no permanent displacement. Natural landscaping has been


undertaken to enhance sustainable and managed rainwater run-off. A local carbon sequestration programme will see the planting of 30,000 indigenous trees and 100,000 drought tolerant plants. Carbon sequestration (the


offsetting of CO2 emissions through the planting of CO2 absorbing trees and plants) has its detractors, but undeniably it mitigates the high carbon footprint that any kind of development inevitably creates onsite and through embodied energy, for example, via transportation of materials to site. What’s more,


undertaken by the


SUSTAINABILITY | 45


selective eye of a passionate landscape architect and materplanner, considered and careful use of that natural environment - working with and not against what you have - can set one resort apart from the rest. And differentiation, in a crowded market, has to be an ambition worth pursuing. In my next column I will look at


tomorrow’s world today: the cutting edge applicable sustainable technologies and materials that are coming to market


If you would like more information about Sustain Worldwide, contact: +44 (0)20 7754 5557 www.sustainworldwide.com


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