About
Gabion was formed in 2015 by designer and maker Nicholas Denney. Currently based in the South West of Scotland, Nicholas grew up in the post industrial landscape of the Medway estuary in North Kent. A family background in construction combined with an art education has enabled Nicholas to realise increasingly ambitious projects. Nicholas has been building gardens since 2006 and providing fine concrete fabrication for architects, designers and cultural institutions since 2014. Moderism and 20th Century architecture has dominated his practice whilst an interest in how the built environment relates to the natural world has inspired an interest in naturalised planting design. Nicholas became a member of the Scottish Furniture Makers Association in 2019 after winning second prize for design innovation at the Visual Arts Scotland annual show. He has won a silver medal from the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society for his 2010 showgarden "succession". He has also contributed to Gold winning gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show and Hampton Court.
Possibilities
Our knowledge of concrete facilitates the production of furniture, sculpture, floor and wall tiles alongside more substantial architectural installations. We are more than comfortable working in other materials and relish the use of stone, steel and timber. Whilst we offer a full garden design and build service we enjoy taking on smaller or part projects such as outdoor kitchens, canopies, garden offices, any small structure. Our understanding of the planning process and regulation allows us to get the most out of your space. The use of lighting can really bring your exterior space to life and naturalised planting schemes can be curated to suit any level of future maintenance. Whilst being design led we are happy to offer a bespoke fabrication service.
How we work
Sustainability is at the center of our business. For concrete fabrication we avoid single use moulds. Our knowledge of concrete allows us to use less of it than would generally be specified. We recycle as much as we can, weather that being mould parts in the workshop or directly refurbishing hard landscaping materials. We can often source recycled materials for your project and failing that we always try to source materials as locally as possible, for example using Scottish larch. By being able to finish concrete decoratively we can keep construction simple, reducing material costs and the associated environmental impact of manufactured products. We believe in low impact landscaping. This means working with the space you have as much as possible, minimising the need to bring quantities of materials either in or out. Much of what is already on site can be re used in the construction process. We also aim for minimal mechanisation, by using the existing contours of your garden to create spaces that are user friendly and visually interesting. This reduces disruption and takes another element out of the construction process.