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Stone steps curving through a planted slope

Landscape · Isle of Portland, United Kingdom · 2021

The Quarry Garden

An abandoned quarry, returned to the public.

Overview

For a century the quarry sent its stone to cities across Britain. We gave it back a landscape: terraces planted with native limestone flora, a stepped amphitheatre and a path down to the old quarry pool.

Nothing was brought in that the quarry could provide. Every step, wall and bench is cut from blocks left behind on the quarry floor.

Location
Isle of Portland, United Kingdom
Year
2021
Status
Completed
Typology
Landscape
Coordinates
50.5456° N, 2.4462° W

Drawings

Drawn to be built.

Plan, section and elevation, from the gate to the quarry pool, each drawn to scale on the structural grid.

Plan, level 00 — The Quarry GardenGround-floor plan, 30 by 10 metres on a 6 by 5 metre structural grid. Rooms from west to east: Gate (54 m²), Terraces (55 m²), Amphitheatre (113 m²), Quarry pool (54 m²). A 12 by 4 metre pool lies to the south.GATE54 m²TERRACES55 m²AMPHITHEATRE113 m²QUARRYPOOL54 m²POOL12 × 4 mENTRYABCDEF123AA60006000600060006000300005000500010000THE QUARRY GARDENISLE OF PORTLAND · 50.5456° N, 2.4462° WPLAN — LEVEL 00 · 1:100A2 LANDSCAPE · AS BUILT02.55 mNHALDEN & VOSS · 2021A-101
The ground floor, set out on a 6 × 5 m structural grid.30 × 10 m · 4 rooms · 300 m² ground floor

Materials

Made of few things.

Two materials, chosen at the source and left to age. Nothing is painted to look like something else.

  • Honed travertine steps in low sun

    Honed Travertine

    Selected in blocks at the quarry, honed and never polished. It warms in the sun and stays cool underfoot.

  • Fair-faced concrete with tie holes and formwork joints

    Fair-faced Concrete

    Cast once, in timber formwork we draw ourselves. The tie holes stay: they are how you read the pour.

Details

Specifications.

Location
Isle of Portland, Dorset, UK
Site area
7.5 ha
Built area
1,200 m² of pavilions
Levels
Terraced, 38 m fall
Structure
Dry stone, reclaimed limestone blocks
Planting
140 native species
Certification
Not certified
Completion
April 2021
Team
9 landscape architects

Credits

Architecture and landscape
Halden & Voss Architects
Ecology
Wessex Ecology
Stonework
Portland Stone Guild
Engineering
Farrow & Kade Engineers
Client
Portland Quarry Trust
A workplace building lit at dusk, its floors glowing

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