Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons Bridges
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Constructed for the Japanese garden at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons; Raymond Blanc’s Michelin two star hotel and restaurant, this bridge replaced an inferior glulam structure that had suffered serious decay. We kept the main carriage beam sections substantial as section and longevity are correlated.
Chinoiserie and Japonisme were popular mid 17th century, here it is revived very successfully for Raymond Blanc’s newly refurbished Japanese garden. The bridge was assembled manually with the use of a gantry scaffold for lifting the main beams into position, as no vehicle could get right up to the bridge site.
The Mushroom Bridge was built over a shipping container used for growing Chanterelles and other fungi for the restaurant. The arch is jointed from three curved sections of timber as are the handrails. Chestnut poles were cut to create the ‘slab-wood’ cladding to disguise the container, the door being quite invisible. Baluster are also Chestnut poles with ends shaped with a ‘stale engine’ or ‘rounder’ to allow them to be fixed.
Stainless steel flitches can be seen here embedded into the ends of the main carriage beams and which serve to lift the beam ends above ground level to ensure their longevity. The handrails are an oval section with a scroll terminations making a very appealing completed structure.
Though small we are very proud of this lovely bridge called the Zig-zag. We used Teak left over from another job and shaped the handrail posts and rails by hand. Teak has an extremely durable classification and is likely to endure for 80 or more years.
Rails are fixed to the posts with stainless steel coach screws and plugged with square billets of Teak. The client resisted utilising no slip inserts on this and his other bridges preferring to keep the surfaces slip free through maintenance.
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View“"Thank you for the frame that you have just finished at Rogate. It was a miserable wet day, yesterday and John and team carried on regardless. We are delighted with the overall look and also the mouldings to the members. As usual, the frame was millimetre accurate and will be easy to take forward to complete the building."
Bob, Trembath Associates
“"We wanted to write to you to express our profound gratitude for the excellent work you have done on our building scheme. It cannot have been easy to pick up the project from another architect when there were still a number of issues unresolved, but you have done so brilliantly and remained calm throughout, even at fraught times. We really do appreciate that you have gone the extra mile for us. We have all enjoyed working with you and have been so impressed with the quality of your work."
Alastair, The Early Years Project
“"Thanks for the excellent job which has just been completed on the Oak Frame extension to the above property. Not only is the quality of the work faultless, it is a true work of art, which will bring endless enjoyment to me and my wife. The end result has surpassed our wildest expectations."
Ray Nicolaides
“"Seems a long time since we finished with the garden room project but we have to say that it has been a huge success in every aspect. The room has become the place of choice for visitors. I can guarantee that everyone, yes everyone who visits, is blown away by the frame."
Mel, Moat Farm
“"Everyone is very impressed with the finished result and I thought I would just take the opportunity of belatedly giving my thanks to you and your team for a job very well done. I have submitted the bridge for a Civic Society award for next year and have every expectation of its success."
P White, Northholt & Greenford Countryside Park Manager