Allan Block® Ashlar Blend – Universal Drive, Henderson
Located in Henderson, between the heavily transited Lincoln Road and Central Park Drive, Universal Drive is a well-known commercial avenue that includes various supermarkets, cafes, real estate agencies, garden centres, among other businesses. The main purpose of the 189-193 Universal Drive project was to build two Allan Block® Segmental Retaining Walls (SWRs) along the drive between Kreem Cafe & Golden Apple Supermarket, where one wall had to allow for a raised planter to accent the entryway and give a more aesthetic softer look, and the other wall had to create a more usable garden area, including a parking space.
Design
The Bowers Brothers Concrete technical team assisted the contractor by providing concept designs using two different retaining wall solutions. The first option entailed the popular and smart AB Classic, and the second a patterned retaining wall using the AB Ashlar Blend, which ended up being the preferred option, and at the time the first of its kind in New Zealand. Two main walls were finally designed. A long 78 meters long and 900 millimeters high retaining wall with 90° returns on one side of the commercial entryway, and on the other side a shorter 30 meters long and 1.8 meters high two-tiered terraced wall with planting areas and a stairway to give access to Kreem Cafe.
Installation
Based on the fact that the AB Ashlar Blend pattern normally requires not only a certain level of detail and craftsmanship to construct, but also some custom fitting and a little extra time, D C Sutcliffe meticulously planned and staged the construction of both retaining walls, creating two very unique and sophisticated Allan Block® (AB) Ashlar Blend retaining walls.
Following best practices recommendations, only full size Allan Block® units were laid as base course. Then a standard two course AB Ashlar Blend pattern was constructed on top throughout the entire length, forming the exposed part of both retaining walls. AB Capstones were secured in place using a high grade, waterproof flexible masonry adhesive to finish off the top of the walls. The terraced wall was divided into two tiers with a 1.5 meters space between them, which was employed to plant a hedgerow of bushes that added color and style to the entryway.
