WHY IS SANDSTONE AN ALTERNATIVE LANDSCAPING MATERIAL FOR CIVIL & COMMERCIAL PROJECTS?

Landscaping Design for any public space is about creating spaces that enhance or encourage connection with nature and community that are both functional and beautiful.
Landscape Design creates meaningful places to visit, recreation or rest, or a combination thereof.
Sandstone, as a natural stone landscaping material, has become increasingly popular and specified in wider applications by landscape architects and civil designers in public space projects for Governments and Councils throughout New South Wales, Melbourne, and Brisbane. This also holds increasingly true in commercial landscaping projects.
In terms of environmental sustainability, this natural stone for commercial and civil landscaping projects is 100% recyclable, ‘green’, thermally stable, and environmentally suited to our climate, as it is sourced locally from Gosford Quarries, Australian Sandstone quarries.
As our sandstone supplies for landscaping projects are extracted from the same area at which it is installed, Gosford Quarries sandstone products blend aesthetically, beautifully and naturally when installed as landscaping log seats (in sandstone yarning circles, for example), crazy paving, landscaping barriers, sandstone retaining walls, rumble strips in bike tracks, water features, accessible pathway borders and garden edging and garden features for play area spaces.
Sandstone blocks, logs, or billets can be used to delineate landscaped areas where a landscaping designer wants to create a particular function or aesthetic as a cultural and/or natural in-situ experience for the visitor’s journey and experience in a public space, whether it is structured, formal, or more ‘natural’ in design.
HERITAGE CONSERVATION, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, NATURAL HABITATS AND WILDLIFE PROTECTION IN PUBLIC PARKS, NATURE RESERVES AND NATIONAL PARKS
As well as parks and recreational public landscaped spaces, Councils and Developers are focussing on coastal management programs and integrating lake areas, estuaries, national parks, conservation areas, public parks, and play areas and defining significant protected areas in various locations across NSW, particularly (such as the protection program of Quolls (a locally ‘extinct’ marsupial native to Australia) in a new national park slated for Western Sydney).
The new Shanes Park will not only protect local species but “will become a tourist destination and allow visitors to see what the Australian bush was like over 200 years ago”, for example, while reintroducing extinct and declining fauna, reptiles and frogs and providing these species with ‘predator-free’ areas.
The contemporary design theme of blending ‘the old with the new’ (or, in landscaping ethic, the natural with the created or installed) presents design challenges and opportunities to landscaping architects and civil designers as they work closely with government sector agencies and bodies in a concerted effort to ensure measures of protection and retention of natural and landscaped public spaces for public use.
It is incumbent on all critical stakeholders in this network of governance and oversight of Public Space to work in concert to ensure the expansion, management, retention and addition of national park areas and reserves as populations grow and expand their footprint, requiring more natural spaces as a complement to urban sprawl.
Sandstone can help create natural habitats that encourage native wildlife and marine life to flourish. Gosford Quarries Sandstone products are 100% Natural. Our VENM-classified sandstone materials allow chemical-free filtration and encourage natural organism growth and habitat creation.
March 2022 will feature Parks Week, “an annual celebration of the important role that our parks play in contributing to the health of our communities”.
SANDSTONE FOR LANDSCAPING RETAINING WALLS AND NATURAL BARRIERS
Add value and aesthetic appeal to enhance your landscape with sandstone from Gosford Quarries, available in an extensive range of styles and colours.
Curved sandstone feature wall: light-medium brown random square ballast cladding wall with curved rockfaced stone capping for walls supplied by Gosford Quarries
USING AUSTRALIAN SANDSTONE IS ONE OF THE EASIEST WAYS TO ADD VALUE TO YOUR HOME

Sandstone Retaining Walls, for example, can help alleviate erosion and provide stability in landscaping design where there is a tiered, natural slope to the land in reserves, parks, and public spaces.
Retaining walls can be a striking feature in ballast walls or random walling (free-form) patterned freestanding structures, as well as more practical solid retaining block solutions.
Sandstone, integrated with purpose, can be utilised in landscaping design that requires a particular functional approach and necessity, as well as creating a dynamic space for community wellbeing.
In fact, green spaces, natural spaces, public and community spaces, and areas where people can go to relax, play, rest, and rejuvenate while surrounded by natural materials incredibly positively impact communities’ mental and physical health.
Our article “6 Options for Your Next Retaining Wall” is a helpful reference for sandstone retaining walls in landscaping projects.
NATURAL STONE SUPPLY FOR PARK PROJECTS AND PUBLIC LANDSCAPING PROJECTS

Sandstone raw quarry products, natural more rustic finishes like hydrasplit and rock faced sandstone finishes or the finer, more bespoke sandstone finishes like gang sawn and diamond sawn products can be utilised in public spaces to create ad-hoc or more formal seating, walls, enclosures, sculptures and public artworks. The list is endless.
“Sandstone is versatile and can impact the way a community space is used when integrated in creative and original ways. These dynamic spaces allow communities to create connection and unity, encouraging a celebration of people, place, natural beauty and embracing community life connected to the land.”
The balance of function, aesthetics, conservation, management, and land use is a delicate challenge that requires striking a synergy in design ethics.
Landscaping designers can execute planned public spaces with the appearance of ‘nature’ executed in design as ‘coincidence’ (blending perfectly with the environment, the experiencer embracing the intent as naturally occurring) versus more formal, original spaces like play areas, community spaces where there may be more explicit human ingenuity of design such as natural carved stone seating, natural barriers, profiled sandstone sculptures and other elements juxtaposing the space to create interest, contemporary beauty and scope for human interaction, appreciation and communion.
One of the tenets of NSW Government environmental initiatives and parks projects is to present a variety of natural environments, thereby providing diversity in different sites of conservation and protection at specific locations. When integrated into landscaping design, sandstone can offer an incredible diversity of form, function and visual appeal.
In terms of protecting the environment, habitats, and wildlife, the issue presented is solving the inherent challenge of creating protected lands while also retaining the biodiversity and cultural heritage of the area parallel to protective efforts.
Public consultation is encouraged and often mandated by the government for public space projects. Considerations of land protection and care are especially important when involving our Indigenous people and custodial land owners. Respect for their participation in and stewardship of the Australian landscape is also essential.
More comprehensive community consultation is often a directive of public space design in Phase 0 (research phase) and Phase 1 (concept and visual plan), respectively.
The blending of these ‘public spaces’ or ‘natural places’ into a holistic, functional, environmentally sustainable outdoor space and place where human interaction with landscaping design is at the heart of many current and planned projects by Governments and Councils.
Resources for environment.nsw.gov.au to learn about new national parks and reserves in NSW can be found here.
If you are interested in finding out more about newly acquired public lands earmarked for conservation and public use, refer to Land recently acquired for parks, which can be found here.
You can learn about your area in NSW, protection strategies, local flora and fauna, facilities, planning, etc, here at environment.nsw.gov.au
Waverley Council have created two beautiful documents of reference from community consultation and their research and planning material. You also may like to learn about
SANDSTONE COLOUR RANGES TO PAINT THE LANDSCAPE WITH DESIGN

The versatility of Gosford Quarries sandstone colour ranges in browns (affectionately known and industry termed Hawkesbury Sandstone), whites, and pinks can also bring a surprising and delightful element of warmth to environmental features and provide contrast to colouring surrounding these designed spaces.
Landscape designers take all of the above considerations into account when creating their overall design and how it will interact with and absorb a public space that will be inhabited by people, whatever that space may be.
OPEN SPACE DESIGN
The excellent publication ‘Open Space Design Guidelines’ cites:
“A growing body of research from around the world is adding weight to what most of us have intuitively believed, that our parks and open spaces are good for us. But what is also emerging from this research is that the quality of design of our public open spaces has a direct bearing on how often we use these spaces, how safe we feel when we are there and what level of enjoyment and wellbeing we gain from experience.”
The landscape design of public space is a way to engender shared values, connect all members of the community, and provide a ‘meeting place’ where we can find common ground, feel safe and content with each other, and be reminded of our place in our world, individually and collectively. Public spaces remind us of our nascent connection to the natural environment (‘nature’) we originate from and return to.
PROPOSING SANDSTONE PRODUCTS AND SANDSTONE APPLICATIONS TO DELIVER CREATIVE, LIVING SPACES FOR PUBLIC ART AND PROJECTS

Landscaping Designers also liaise with cultural officers and community planners, artists, and community representatives to create spaces for community projects, particularly the execution of arts projects in disciplines like placemaking.
Placemaking is “a multi-faceted approach to the planning, designing and managing public spaces”.
These ‘placemaking spaces’ promote health, happiness and well-being for communities with all that transpires within them. They are often a crucial and vibrant facet of specific space planning projects and public landscaping design, ensuring public spaces retain their organic and multifaceted use, thereby increasing their intrinsic value.
Symbiotic relationships between Government bodies, Civil Designers, Landscape Designers, community leaders, Council members, artists, Indigenous leaders and the general public ensure an optimum design and vision when devising and planning new and renewed public spaces.
PUBLIC ARTWORKS CREATED FROM NATURAL AUSTRALIAN SANDSTONE
“Gosford Quarries are leaders and innovators in sandstone technology and thus take immense pride in having the capability to create unique, bespoke artworks that no other sandstone supplier can produce. We work closely with Artists, architects, designers and communities to produce sandstone into a variety of forms. These range from carved murals to solid sculptural artworks and formations with rich historical and cultural significance. ”
An example of this is the incredible Wurrungwuri Sculpture in Sydney.
A PUBLIC ARTWORK CREATED WITH SANDSTONE – THE “WURRUNGWURI STONE SCULPTURE”

The “Wurrungwuri Stone Sculpture” is the outcome of a bequest in the will of the late Ronald Johnson. The will directed that a substantial sum of money should be used to provide a work of sculpture to be placed on the Sydney Harbour foreshore.
Following an international competition, the Trustees of the Estate selected Chris Booth, an internationally renowned sculptor from New Zealand, to develop the sculpture. The site chosen for the sculpture is close to the Government House in the Royal Botanical Gardens.
The engineers’ initial challenge was to work with Chris Booth’s 1:50-scale ‘maquette’ in clay. This clay model became the ‘contract document’ defining the sculpture’s intent.
Arup created a geometrical background in Rhino3D from the model, from which all individual stones and connecting bolt components could be analysed and further drawn.

The sculpture comprises two separate stone items:
A quartz stone ‘waveform’ of woven quartz pebbles incorporating an aboriginal shield design from the Sydney Gadigal community.
An undulating sandstone waveforms in three separate strata, sometimes laid over each other. These stones are all connected mechanically through bolting; no stones are attached by conventional masonry means. Approximately 300 individually sawn and drilled stones up to 1.0 tonne in weight were supplied to the project. Some stones exceeded 3m in length and half a meter in thickness. Mostly, all touching faces of stones were sawn to within 2mm tolerances, and no sides were square or parallel. All intersecting drill holes for bolt connections are drilled in 3D space. Each stone was cut to shape and drilled from a detailed drawing generated from the 3D model supplied by Arup.
The Piles Creek and Wondabyne sandstone waveform, with its undulation and separation, is reminiscent of the typical Hawkesbury sandstone strata, which has been subjected over millennia to weathering and movement by tectonic forces.
THE IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC PARKS AND RESERVES AS PLACES OF JOY, RECREATION, COMMUNITY AND WELL-BEING

“As we emerge from the restriction of Covid, our public spaces will become crucial locations for the healing and rejuvenation of our communities by visiting parks, reserves and recreation and play areas.
Any place we can connect with nature and the outdoors will be far more appreciated and coveted. These spaces are for everyone, and Civil Architects, Landscape Architects, and Landscape Designers have new opportunities to provide outstanding and unique experiences when imagining spaces where people can exercise, interact and engage, traverse, experience and explore.”
As areas industrialise and urbanise, there is a parallel need for natural spaces free of the impact of our developing civilisation here in Australia and its indelible footprint, which is claiming more and more of our natural environment in urban areas.
Places where a community may feel a loss or change in the ‘natural feel’ of surroundings can be enhanced and energised by using natural elements such as sandstone in public space design. This creates synergy with nature to regain ‘natural’ elements and bring back a connection to ‘nature’ for those in communities impacted by urban development.
“Places and spaces for us just to visit and ‘be’ are necessary, not just desired for.”
SANDSTONE AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Sandstone is a strong contender as a natural material choice in civil design for park and land management, mainly where there are water courses, waterways and other diversifications within the boundary of public spaces and natural, protected and conserved land.
Sandstone also lends itself to environmental protection, providing spaces for wildlife to thrive in the crevices of filtration material in waterways, estuaries, creeks and rivers when used as VENM material in causeway management.
You can read about Gosford Quarries’ Environmental Sustainability initiatives here.
SANDSTONE AND NATURAL WATER COURSES IN CIVIL LANDSCAPING DESIGN

Crushed and graded sandstone rock armour, rip-rap, logs for erosion prevention, and the rock’s natural ability to act as a filtration system all champion this natural stone material for civil and landscaping use by councils and park projects where environmental protection is paramount.
Of course, the budget spent on sandstone brings with it the durability and long-lasting, timeless quality of sandstone, let alone its aesthetic and sustainable qualities and features.
Refer to our Sandstone article for Creeks, Rivers, Waters and Filtration Material Supply.
Our VENM (Virgin Excavated Natural Material) article is here for reference if you are interested in civil and landscaping applications for this council-specified natural stone resource supplied by Gosford Quarries.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF USING GOSFORD QUARRIES SANDSTONE IN LANDSCAPING?
No matter the scope and size of park projects and national reserve projects, Gosford Quarries can supply raw, quarried, and higher-grade sandstone products (including sandstone rocks) at all budget levels and sizes.
Our capabilities as Australia’s largest sandstone suppliers, with the greatest variety of sandstone products, colour ranges, finishes, and applications in the country, are second to none.
We also have experts who have extensive experience in civil and landscaping projects, from small to large, in NSW, Melbourne, and Brisbane. Our in-house project management team can support Tender Applications and help you correctly specify and quantify the sandstone supply needed for your envisioned landscaping projects.
Gosford Quarries can also advise on the appropriateness of different sandstone products, their application and suitability of use, both structurally in design concept and methodology and installation at location. We assist landscape architects with troubleshooting and ideas to marry form and function in their design vision while achieving a practical, solid product installed in situ.
Our sandstone is tested to comply with all of the Blacktown Council specs for civil supply. Generally, our sandstone is tested to meet the highest quality standards and fulfil industry standards to ensure a consistent grade and uniformity of quality in the sandstone products supplied.
Architects, landscape architects, builders, and councils trust Gosford Quarries to supply sandstone products to Parks and recreation, public spaces, and buildings because they have peace of mind about the quality of the materials, capabilities of our facilities, and technology and efficiency of the Gosford Quarries Team.
Why Not Choose Australian Sandstone For Your Home?
Contact Gosford Quarries at (02) 8585 8282 today for your next Civil Sandstone Project.