This memorial landscape is dedicated to those who died and cared for us during the pandemic. SPLA designed Havering’s Memorial Woodland as a journey, using the central stone provided by Havering. The design has five main components leading to the central reflective space, which then opens out to the wider natural environment and the healing power of nature:

It’s been designed with distinctly different spaces and areas utilising orientation, topography, soils:

• Approach path with stone carved inscriptions

• Woodland Rides, allowing shafts of sunlight to illuminate carvings on the main approach

• The Central Area and Memorial Stone, a contemplative space,

• The Meadow: from the memorial, open to the east

• New Wetland: seasonally wet pond, meadow and woodland to the west

The paths and spaces are designed to reflect and provide solace for the experiences so many have been through. A main serpentine route intersects grass rides, a central contemplative space that opens out into nature and into the wider countryside. This central space looks toward the east - the direction of the sunrise, the healing and unstoppable force of nature, and to better days ahead. Our design harnesses the site’s natural qualities, improving biodiversity, suds and access.