Derriford Hospital (Plymouth) - landscaping & architecture

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Had a walk around the grounds this evening since our little girl is on the ward.

 

Few interesting observations and pictures, the new car park build and landscaping will have made someone a pile of cash but it's some of the weirdest stuff I've seen!

 

Carpark looks like a Shanghai bamboo scaffold, couldn't believe it, they have used round fence posts on the upper tier. I wondered if it was some kind of temp safety measure but why would they choose round fence posts? The spacing is so wide as not to provide a barrier to a child falling through, surely this can't be the design effect / finished item but the car park is in use??? How on earth would this pass Bldg control?

 

Haven't checked the new BS but the spacing on the new plantings seems too close, the ties are way too tight and look to be too low to me?

 

The boundary fencing for the outside ground level parking, although rather agricultural, appears that the top levels are reasonable but, and it's difficult to see from the pic, the bottom post levels are up to 3" variance in length! Pretty poor in my view.

 

Anyone else seen it?

[chris23a]

Looks like they are trying to grow those birch into a hedge, far too close in my opinion.

[Kev Stephenson]

One or two of the car park upper sections look ok, some look like they have run out of materials

 

The tree stakes are a disaster, no room at all for the growth of the tree - not even an inch in the trunk.

 

The fencing lats different sizes, either the post or the lath in the picture isn't vertical and why not run a simple edging strip along the bottom to keep the chip off the tarmac.

[Matthew Storrs]

Girlfriend works there. That fencing in the last picture is an awful job- knocked up out of a load of half round rails- I'm guessing the shorter places were the offcuts that weren't quite long enough:lol:

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

I drive right past that view twice a day, every day.

 

The grade of workmanship is no worse than a lot of other planting / landscaping; the tree ties make me mad. I went the whole of cattedown some years ago "setting trees free". Members of the public re-attached 10 y/o trees lol.

 

Clueless.

Edited August 18, 2014 by TimberCutterDartmoor

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Thank goodness I'm not alone! I was beginning to think I'd lost the battle with my OCD!

 

TCD, did you see PM I sent a few days ago about Mont Pine??

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Despite our best efforts, we've crashed into Christmas like a runaway freight train on a collision course with a fuel depot (I think the film I'm thinking of might be runaway?)

 

72 hours of adult D&V and now back in DERRIFORD with the little one.

 

That's my 2 days emergency Christmas shopping blown again! A set of wiper blades from Morrisons garage for the wife again this year! At least I've got a reasonable excuse this year!!

 

So, had a walk around the estate to get some air and thought I'd have a look see how the plantings from earlier in the year were doing:

 

Pretty much as expected, lashings are bar taught, chafing, breaking and pulling the supports out:

 

 

 

 

 

!

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

And whoever had the contract for topping the new carpark needs a serious talking to, I think the WIND blew the blacktop off:

 

[easy-lift guy]

I thought that landscapers in the US only did such horrible work. To many trees and no place for them to grow in a mature environment. The bamboo or what ever is hanging from the side of the building really looks poor. Looks like the owners of the building were sold a bill of goods. Maybe a blind person could appreciate the job, just maybe!

easy-lift guy

PS, I just noticed the parking lot paving job as well. Who is responsible for issuing a final inspection for such piss poor work?

Edited December 22, 2014 by easy-lift guy

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

And then there are the 5837 issues:

 

 

And high value assets semi permanently located under potential hazard beams:

 

 

I'll have to try and find out from the NHS Trust who has this contract, I really hope it's not an AA approved outfit!