Hardscape

Hardscape covers everything in an outdoor design that is built rather than grown. Stone and concrete paving, timber decking, footpaths, driveways and car parks, retaining and garden walls, steps, ramps, pergolas, pools and seating all belong here. It forms the skeleton that softscape, the planted part, hangs on.

Hardscape in design

Hardscape decides how a site is used: where people walk, where they sit, where vehicles enter. Durability, slip resistance, maintenance and climate all shape the choice of paving; a stone that cannot cope with freeze and thaw may fail within a few winters. More impermeable surface means faster runoff, so drainage and falls are planned from the start, and permeable paving or grass-jointed setts can ease the load. The ratio of hard to soft surfaces is the main decision behind a site’s character. Too much hardscape gives a lifeless space that heats up in summer; too little makes the area harder to use and maintain.

Hardscape in visualization

In a render, the joint size of paving, kerbs and edging, and slight colour variation across the surface make the scene believable. A perfectly uniform single-colour paving looks synthetic. The steps of a landscape design are covered in how to plan a landscape design.