Mylandscapes: Perched curvilinearly on the 6th floor of the Ziggurat Building in Saffron Hill, Central London EC1, this art deco roof garden, although bijou at only 30 sqm, is one of the most unique rooftop projects we ever designed, and we’ve worked on 100’s all across London. Owned by a busy city barrister, who’s a keen wildlife patron, ornithologist, fisherman & pianist, we were commissioned to develop the outdoor space way back in summer 2013. We resurfaced the roof terrace with Balau Hardwood Decking & Crystal Black Granite Pavers, detailed with dramatic LED strip lighting. There’s also a glass balustrade, automatic irrigation & low-voltage lighting. Unique bespoke aperture planters, positioned as 1 trio overlooking the city skyline, and 1 pair framing the west area, increase spatial depth, allow more daylight in via the glazed balustrades & are fitted with LED contour tracing which generates warm ambience at sundown. The skyline features prominent buildings such as The Barbican Towers, The Cheese Grater, The Shard & St Paul’s Cathedral. Over the years, we’ve not only lovingly maintained the roof garden, but also replaced the original Silver birch trees which were damaged in a storm in 2019. During this revamp, we also installed a living wall teeming with herbs & alpines. In 2023 & 2024, we replaced some of the perennials & grasses with sedges, ferns & meadow plants.
A floating circular large white planter houses 3 Cotoneaster trees, perfect for wildlife, attracting pollinators in summer & birds in winter. These trees replaced the original Betula species. New Zealand species also cope well in the exposed, sunny aspect with a Pittosporum hedge (Kohuhu) screening the neighbours, Uncinia red grasses (Watua), Muehlenbeckia wire vine (Tororaro), Phormium (Harakeke), Astelia (Wharawhara), Carex (Karaihe) & Libertia (Mīkoikoi). To quote our astute client: “this is an ongoing experiment”. 11 years in the making, this hidden gem of a roof garden continues to evolve through the seasons as we adjust the living wall plants, prune the more mature woody plants & undertake organic upkeep in line with our sustainability & biodiversity philosophy.
