Portfolio > Backyard, Ponsonby
This small back yard previously contained a gently sloping lawn (running down to the steps) and regular garden beds, which followed the lines of the boundaries. The clients wanted to screen out certain views to neighbouring properties, and give the garden more volume (particularly with bolder-foliaged plants of the kind that are common in the north of New Zealand).
The major problem with the area was the gently sloping lawn which ran down to the steps (and the retaining wall which contains the upper level on which the garden sits). Visually, they formed a weak, unresolved juncture. The best way of dealing with this was to create a break point which would form a new junction; one that effectively acts as a continuation of the existing steps. We decided to build a long concrete step, which spanned almost the entire width of the back yard.
The form of this step was based on the pseudo-classical detailing that Carlo Scarpa used extensively in his master work at the Brion Monumental Tomb in San Vito d'Altivole. A fuller explanation of the form and detailing of the step is provided at the bottom of this account, with photos of Scarpa's detailing.
The other primary issue with the yard was that it was hemmed in by gardens that mirrored the boundaries. These made an already small space seem smaller, and cast a lot of attention to the fences and beyond. We reshaped the gardens to run diagonally to the boundaries, providing perspective and dissociating them from the fences. 
The plantings were then edited and filled out with planting that contained predominantly northern New Zealand species and a small number of sub-tropical exotics.
Significant species include the large-leaved electric-blue flowering native herb, koru (Colensoa physaloides); the remarkable New Zealand climber, kiekie (Freycinetia banksii, which is the only NZ member of the tropical Pandanus family); the little-known northern NZ small tree/shrub, Melicytus macrophyllus, which is notable for the scent of its flowers and attractive leaves; the bambusiform northern NZ grass, Microlaena polynoda, which adds a necessary delicate element to the planting (an often overlooked part of bold-styled plantings); and the giant tree fern, black mamaku (Cyathea medullaris) whose massive fronds are a common sight in forests of the North Island.
Concrete step
As mentioned above the detailing of the step is based loosely on the pseudo-classical detailing of Scarpa's Brion Tomb. Two examples of this relief detailing are shown at the base of this paragraph. This simple manner of relief detailing provides a system for elaborating different junctures within Scarpa's work, and for providing a connectivity between the distinct areas of the cemetery.
Our step is a simplified version of this system of detailing. The end result is more classical in appearance than the Italian detailing that we were looking to; resembling an ancient architrave resting upon the ground.
