Arts Institute of Bournemouth
It
was under contract to Dorset County Council that we first started grounds
maintenance in 1992 for the Arts Institute at Bournemouth... and we’re
still there handling regular landscape building and development work,
alongside ongoing grounds maintenance.
Now managed directly by the Institute, our latest job involved some creative landscaping in a tricky area between two modified buildings - where there isn’t a lot of sunlight or water. A former caretaker’s lodge had been converted into a student advice centre, another building added and a linkway created between the two. Re-landscaping was needed in one or two areas where trees were too close to buildings.
And after the building of new art workshops, a hardwood decking walkway was installed to link buildings. Its surrounding areas now enjoy contemporary planting and plum slate - these materials were chosen to enhance both the new cutting-edge building and the older original, red brick premises.
Regular
maintenance includes grass-cutting, shrubs, tidy-ups for graduations
and open days - plus interior maintenance of plant displays in the reception
area and offices.
Anne Dixon, director of Institute Services, said: "Banyards has always been responsive to our needs and understands the importance of design in demonstrating the values of a creative, specialist community, whilst at the same time demanding good value for money."
The regular contact with the Institute has given us a unique relationship that led Banyards staff to work alongside students in a couple of ways:
1. we provided plant advice for students on a design course 2. we helped organise two design competitions during the 90s;
The
first competition involved students on the BA (Hons) Illustration course,
who had to design the Quad Garden. They worked to a brief set by Banyards,
then we judged the best entries, donated a prize to the winner and planted
the winning design FOC in the garden. The second was run in conjunction
with an old FdA Garden Design course and the residents of Talbot Village
– the area in which the Institute’s campus is.
And as part of the two-way working relationship we paid for a promotional video to be designed and produced by the students as part of their course.
The Arts Institute at Bournemouth was established in 1885 and has developed into one of the leading specialist education institutions in Europe. It is one of the few Higher Education University sector organisations that focus exclusively on contemporary arts, design and media.
