Context

A shopping centre in the South of France specified island planters for its interior spaces. These had been designed in concrete but the suspended floors of the centre could not accommodate the projected weights.

Savi, the consultant, approached Livingreen Design for an alternative solution.

Work undertaken

The project comprised several island planters which would include bench seating and would be planted in the centres. In addition, a number of separate curving planter features would be positioned throughout the shopping centre.

Livingreen designed a cost-effective alternative solution from fibreglass composite (GRP) and using only three moulds to keep the costs down. The curved planters had reinforced interior walls and were bolted together from the inside to create a central planting area.

The seats were made from iroko slats which were attached to a plywood base which was then screwed down into the planter. These could be removed if additional planting areas were required. 

All of the planters and seats were made in the UK and included a lower lip to accommodate LED lighting features.

Outcome

The bespoke curved bench planters fulfilled the design brief and their lightweight construction resolved the load bearing issues.