Establishing a heart to the community at North Stoneham Park

Our public realm design brings together the newly formed primary school, community centre, offices, and gym to the emerging residential settlement of Eastleigh. This gateway to the multi-million-pound North Stoneham Park development links contemporary design with heritage interpretation.

The local centre creates a strong sense of arrival and introduces the historical parkland character of the wider development. A landscape framework was created to give an appropriate balance of quality and value to the project, also ensuring that the most important spaces are invested in, celebrated, and designed to help create a sense of place.

The pedestrian areas have been carefully considered to reflect how the landscape will be perceived and used. The materials palette aims to provide a contemporary feel that respects and integrates elements of the historic parkland using clumps of trees to frame key views and routes through the landscape.

Corten planters will create raised ‘green’ islands that project into the main pedestrian street, helping to break up the linearity of the buildings and provide enclosure. Integrated seating will offer places to rest, socialise, or ‘just be’ with bold planting providing vibrant colours, rich textures, and powerful aromas – all to be enjoyed and experienced up close. The structural planting will consist of low canopies and multi-stemmed tree species, providing the right sense of scale and greater depth to the screening of adjacent parking areas.