Some time ago I started to toy with an idea to create a garden pavilion. I looked around online to see what there was around and found a real lack of modern design pavilions. Those that were of a modern design lacked one thing in particular - an integrated floor!
Having had some experience with garden construction, I am well aware of the cost and effort required to create a flat paved or decked area in a garden. This cost and effort explode when the ground is not level. Berms, retaining walls, filled areas and soil compaction are all vital issues that any gardener knows about and does not underestimate.
These costs can easily dwarf the cost of the actual pavilion!
So many sketches and models later, the Gardenqub started to take shape.
A modern design, all steel, pavilion with an integrated timber decking for a floor.
The entire structure is supported by 4 feet that are set into concrete block footings.
The Gardenqub can be installed on virtually any sloping ground space (within engineering limits) and can dramatically extend the livable outdoor area of an uneven or sloping ourdoor area. This case is quite common my country of residence - Switzerland.
The frame is made from 150 x 150 x 5mm square steel pipe.
The elbows are my own design hiding the structural joining elements.
This enables a modular self construct kit product that can be put together by any gardener or handyman (with the help of some friends).
The ideal maximum size is a 4 x 4m floor space with 2.8m uprights. This size means that each of the elements remains within a weight limit which can be man handled. (This is where the friends come into it).
What was left for me was to make a full size version to verify my design. This being a large step requiring a permanent home for it, meant that my project came to a standstill until now.
A good friend of mine was recently telling me about his garden renovation plans and we got into the subject of my Gardenqub project. I moked up some 3D sketches quickly in Google Sketchup and presented them to him.
He was sold.
(His one is actually going to be bigger than I plan - 6m x 3.5m - so some slight modification is required to the base design)
So I wanted to share this initial post about the Gardenqub with you all, and give you a chance to follow the steps in the construction of my first one.
Take this as a social experiment as well since I will share with you all the joys and hardaches of the final steps of product development.
Subscribe to this blog to be kept abreast of our project.
p.s My friend is putting together the plans for the rest of the garden so looks like we will not be getting started with actual installation work before mid August.
