Long Lane, Leathermarket
Communal courtyards, roof terraces, gardens and public realm for a dense urban development which blends commercial and residential uses
The external spaces are provided over a series of levels from the ground to the 6th floor. Each has a different usage and corresponding design.
At the heart of the residential scheme, the first floor (roof garden) courtyard has a ripple lawn and play areas for under 5s, 5-11 and 12+ age groups. It features flowering trees, white-trunked birches and granite benches backed by ornamental grasses and colourful perennials in raised beds formed in cor-ten steel. A separate ‘Workspace Courtyard’ provides a comfortable meeting space for the commercial part of the building, with a decked seating nook in the sunniest corner. The community roof terraces incorporate communal tables, seating and BBQ facilities. Some overlook a biodiverse roof garden with log piles, wildflowers, sand and rubble mounds and a shallow wet area; others have views across a sedum roof.