Capitol House Roof Garden Leeds

This first-floor roof terrace in the refurbished Capitol House in Leeds demonstrates Paxman Landscapes multi-disciplinary skills in paving, artificial turf installation, decking and gravel.  The resulting rooftop garden provides hard-standing areas to bring a peaceful lunchtime retreat for the client’s employees where they can enjoy views across Leeds city centre.

Following the £3m refurbishment of Capitol House, the client felt that the existing podium terrace which had not been updated since the building was originally constructed in around 1970 was one of the final pieces of the jigsaw in order to complete the project.  The original objective was to screen off the plant equipment and repair the existing terrace with a general overhaul of the area.  However, to maximise the space’s potential, it was proposed that the scheme could in fact be converted into roof terrace garden for use by tenants which would both bring added value to the building and provide a greater attraction for potential occupiers.

The design brief outlined a roof garden requiring no maintenance at all, achieved by Paxman Landscapes Grass Greener artificial grass, durable paving, composite decking, and pebbles and gravel utilising the original drainage system.  The old, worn balustrading was completely replaced and the existing parapet walls were repainted.  For a finishing flourish, low level lighting bollards were installed around the perimeter and hardwood timber screening erected to mask the plant equipment. The result is a fantastic roof garden that connects well with the recent refurbishment and is usable by tenants all year round.

The Paxman team worked with GMI Construction, Kilmartin Plowman Architects and Evans Property Group to complete the impressive project earlier this year.

July 2015