Garden at London’s Royal Academy of Arts by Tom Stuart Smith
SeptimA pavers in the center of London
Tom Stuart-Smith has created a new garden at the Royal Academy in the heart of London.
In a previously neglected space, closely surrounded by buildings and with very little natural light, the Keepers House Garden creates a lush green retreat and café seating area – just a few hundred meters away from the noise and bustle of Piccadilly Circus.
Integral to the garden’s design is the use of Vande Moortel pavers. The SeptimA brick-size format blends well with the surrounding masonry - whilst the selection of the dark Anthracite colour provides a subtle background that contrasts with the vivid greenery of the surrounding plants and grasses.
The pavers were close-jointed with mortar and were also used as brick risers to the steps between the varying levels of the paved area.
The confined site with its restricted storage area required close collaboration between Main Contractor – London-based Sykes & Son – and Vande Moortel’s UK operation.
Deliveries were coordinated in small, separate loads to match the progress of the construction.
The garden is open to Friends, Patrons and Royal Academicians until 4pm each day, then open to the public from 4pm.
The Keepers House Garden is not the first major collaboration between Tom Stuart-Smith and Vande Moortel.
At the 2008 Chelsea Flower Show, Tom’s Gold Medal and Best of Show award-winning Laurent-Perrier Garden prominently featured Vande Moortel Ancienne Belgique pavers.
Comparable case studies
Sustainability and a natural appearance as the trump card of the SeptimA Anthracite clay paver
When it came to designing this city garden, the owners gave Jeroen Verheyen (Duo Verde) carte blanche. Their only requirement was for the design to be transparent so that they would still be able to keep an eye on the children from the house when they were playing out in the garden.
