From Concrete and Clay to Ferns and Light

Five Years On: The Evolution of a Crystal Palace Garden by The Gentleman Architect – Dulwich Architect (RIBA, ARB)

Exactly five years ago, I took a photograph that, at the time, didn’t look like much - a newly poured retaining wall, a sloped site full of clay, and a few concrete manhole rings stacked in the mud, waiting for purpose.

That site photo marked the beginning of what would become one of my favourite small-scale design transformations. Those same concrete manhole rings, once destined for drainage, became the defining structure of the garden - a series of stepped circular planters forming a terraced landscape that now anchors the whole rear elevation.

The project, part of a wider extension and refurbishment in Crystal Palace, was as much about making use of the structural as it was about softening it. The garden sits tight against a retaining wall, so instead of concealing it, the design embraces its material honesty. The rings were stacked and offset to create depth and rhythm, filled with ferns and shade-tolerant planting that spill gently over the concrete edge.

Five years later, the photos tell a clear story: of structure turned into landscape, of form becoming texture, and of a once-raw construction site evolving into a place of calm and greenery.

Good design often begins in the least glamorous moments - in soil, shuttering and site logistics - and grows, quite literally, into something layered, permanent and alive.

The Gentleman Architect – Dulwich Architect (RIBA, ARB) | Local Architect for Dulwich, Herne Hill & East Dulwich (and occasionally Carshalton) | ARB 062246J · RIBA 9124790

Tags: #TheGentlemanArchitect #CrystalPalace #SouthLondonArchitect #ConcreteDesign #UrbanGardens #LandscapeArchitecture #MaterialHonesty #BeforeAndAfter #DesignProcess #SkullsAndTweed