Auckland Botanic gardens

Client: Friends of the Botanic gardens

Design: Isthmus

Scope: Pavements, stepping stones, lake edge viewing platform, and seating elements

Sustainable Craft Meets Landscape Design

When Isthmus Group envisioned the updated landscape elements for the Auckland Botanic Gardens, they needed custom architectural concrete products that balanced heavy public use with high design aesthetics. Liquidstone stepped in to manufacture a suite of custom elements, including durable pavements, stepping stones, a lake edge viewing platform, and integrated seating elements. The defining story of this project lies beneath the surface—literally. Rather than relying on standard aggregates, we developed a custom, eco-conscious mix design to keep high-grade materials out of local waste streams.

Turning Waste into Architectural Value

The core aggregate for this project came from an unlikely source: reclaimed granite tiles salvaged during a refurbishment of Auckland Council’s new Federal street head office building. Originally destined for landfill, this premium material was saved and diverted straight to our workshop.

Crushed & Graded:

The salvaged granite was crushed and precision-graded in-house to create a high-quality recycled aggregate.

Reconstituted Matrix:

We blended the graded granite into a custom concrete matrix engineered for structural longevity and intricate casting.

Surface Finishes:

To reveal the character of the aggregate, all surfaces were honed and exposed. This process highlights the natural glint and depth of the recycled granite tiles, giving the final landscape products a refined, tactile texture.By pairing Isthmus Group’s landscape design with our material innovation, the Auckland Botanic Gardens project stands as a testament to circular design principles—giving discarded materials a permanent, beautiful second life in a public space.