The client wanted to transform an unexciting campus site in Lewes, together with its suburban road layout, into a series of more intimate collegiate spaces. Although 60 percent of the site comprised external works, the landscape budget was only four percent of the £100 million budget – a third of what was needed.

The existing cost plan was re-examined, exploring for instance how monies were invested in road construction, and working closely with the quantity surveyor, using drawings to illustrate how each iteration of the design process improved value.

So, for instance, a new more economical proposal for a road and path network, which was permeable and flexible, challenged the convention of an expensive road, kerb and drainage system and overly deep foundations. By reusing subsoil on site within a newly designed series of massive walls, they not only eliminated a significant ‘cart away’ cost, but created a scale and grandeur which now defines the character of the place.