Redesign terraces and paths with Spanish tiles and slabs – you can find a colorful selection on the Tile of Spain web platform. Whether a secluded loggia, modern atrium or a covered garden area with pool – all these places have one thing in common: they need a floor covering that emphasizes their ambience and is easy to maintain.

Redesign terraces and paths with Spanish tiles and slabs – you can find a colorful selection on the Tile of Spain web platform. Whether a secluded loggia, modern atrium or a covered garden area with pool – all these places have one thing in common: they need a floor covering that emphasizes their ambience and is also easy to maintain.

Once an outdoor area has started to show its age and is in need of renovation, a special material is available that previously only attracted attention in the living area with its numerous advantages: porcelain stoneware! Ceramic tiles and slabs are increasingly conquering the areas around the house. While natural stone and wood suffer greatly from the effects of the weather, ceramic coverings are immune to moisture, UV radiation and pest infestation, for example. Spanish tile manufacturers currently have the most attractive floor coverings for terraces and paths in their collections.

The Spaniards are not only leaders in the field of design – thanks to continuous technical development, they can also offer products that are characterized by very high slip resistance. Materials with minimal porosity should be used in areas where moisture is constantly present. The Spanish manufacturer Keraben Grupo, for example, has developed “Antislip Shoeless”, an anti-slip version with a delicate texture that differs from conventional rough anti-slip surfaces.

The Spanish companies Tau, Rosagres and Cerámica Mayor also have such high-quality tiles for outdoor areas in their range. The design possibilities are also unique, as they can be used to create a uniform, spacious look right up to the patio – making the living space appear larger. Paths can also be fitted with 20 to 30 millimeter reinforced ceramic tiles. The current trend is for materials with a natural look, such as wood or natural stone.

You can find out more about tiles from Spain at www.tileofspain.de.

Also interesting: rock gardens are known as gardens of horror. Find out why this is not entirely correct and how to create an environmentally friendly rock garden here: Rock gardens.

An idyllic garden and a small sports field have been awaiting visitors to Frankfurter Allee 14 in Berlin’s Friedrichshain district since the fall of this year.

An idyllic garden and a small sports field have been awaiting visitors to Frankfurter Allee 14 in Berlin’s Friedrichshain district since the fall of this year. The newly designed school and sports yard of the Georg-Friedrich-Händel-Gymnasium and the adjoining Pablo Neruda Garden behind the Pablo Neruda District Central Library are somewhat hidden away and at the same time in the immediate vicinity of the busy Frankfurter Tor.

Both projects are part of the comprehensive redesign of the cultural and educational site on Frankfurter Allee, which has been planned by Berlin-based landscape architects LA.BAR Landschaftsarchitekten since 2012 and is funded by the Urban Redevelopment East program.

In order to ensure the highest possible quality and uniform design, the urban planning department, in cooperation with the green spaces department of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district office, carried out an expert opinion process involving several landscape planning offices.

LA.BAR designed a network of open spaces with different functions. In addition to the representative library forecourt still to be built and the quiet forecourt of the school, these include the now completed new school sports facilities and the library garden to the south as quiet zones.

The conversion of the former Franz Fühmann School into the “Pablo Neruda” district central library brought a significant upgrade to the area around Frankfurter Tor, not least because of its striking architecture. Now the library building, which opened in 2010, has been given an appropriate setting in the form of a small, idyllic park.

The 2,200 square meter public “Pablo Neruda Garden” is a place to discover – the only indication of its existence is the large glass façade in the library, which provides a view of the garden. The defining elements are a large lawn with wooden sun loungers, a Himalayan birch grove and a long garden bench with wooden tables. The fence to the sports field is camouflaged behind tall grasses. A square-like widening in the circular path is available for readings and library events.

Adjacent to the library building are the sports facilities completed in May 2014 and the schoolyard of the Georg-Friedrich-Händel-Gymnasium. The school’s 3,800 square meter open space now has a 100-meter running track, a long jump facility with a synthetic surface, a varied climbing course, a motor skills track and a table tennis table. There are also benches and platforms for climbing and taking a break. The yellowish and grey color tones and the materials are based on the surroundings and blend in harmoniously with the existing buildings.

In the next construction phases, the forecourts of the library and the school, the surroundings of a new auditorium and a daycare center will be built. The overarching design of the open spaces is intended to strengthen the urban context of the facilities. The forecourt of the library as a quiet zone with seating is to become an important meeting point and place of identification for Friedrichshain and offer adequate recreational areas for library users and pupils. Completion of the entire project is scheduled for 2017.

(This article is a collaboration with our sister magazine Garten + Landschaft).