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Commercial Planter Specification Guide

Practical Guidance for Specifying Commercial Planters

Commercial planters play an increasingly important role in contemporary landscape architecture. From office developments and residential schemes to hotels, public spaces, and educational and healthcare environments, planters are used to introduce impactful, large-scale planting where traditional in-ground solutions may not be possible.

However, specifying commercial planters often involves far more than selecting dimensions, materials and finishes – for example:

  • The planter may have other functions beyond the horticultural – such as: to integrate with seating, to house lighting or other electrical services, or to deliver wider, scheme objectives [privacy screening, pedestrian protection, branding – it’s a long list].
     
  • The planter may also need to satisfy demanding aesthetic, structural and operational or maintenance requirements, while remaining affordable and practical to manufacture, transport and install. The bigger the commercial project, the greater the complexity and risk – but, equally, almost always the greater the pressure on cost and strict contractual compliance.
     
  • In the largest, most complex schemes, the planter can become the focal point at which multiple trades and services intersect, interact and need to be integrated – such as landscape architecture, architecture, structural engineering, drainage and irrigation systems, soft landscaping and ongoing plant maintenance. As these trades/services are almost always separately contracted, the planter can become a ‘hotbed’ of potential contractual liabilities.

Whatever the specific project context, the most successful commercial planter solutions are those that consider not only how the planter will look, and how it will perform its principal function as a ‘home’ for plants and trees; but also take full account of other, interrelated considerations. The long-term success of the project [and its final cost and ongoing liability profile], can often hinge on how well the initial specification and design process addressed those issues up-front.

This guide outlines the principal considerations involved in specifying commercial planters, and highlights the practical factors that influence successful project delivery.

What Is a ‘Commercial Planter’?

Whilst there is no formal industry definition, commercial planters are typically distinguished by their scale, durability, design life and ability to satisfy demanding project requirements. 

  • Scale, Strength, Longevity

    Commercial planters are almost always required to accommodate larger planting volumes, more demanding usage patterns, and significantly longer design lives, than can be met from mass-produced domestic planters. So, if a planter can be bought online, cheaply – then common sense would say that it is unlikely to meet ‘commercial’ requirements. 

  • Cost, Lead time

    Commercial planters are expensive, and are thus unlikely to be held speculatively in stock for immediate off-the shelf delivery. They will be made-to-order [a typical lead time would be a minimum 10-12 weeks]; and the project programme needs to take this into account. 

  • Industrial Materials

    A distinguishing feature of commercial planters is that they are manufactured from industrial materials, repurposed to deliver planters of exceptional strength. These materials include glass-reinforced cement [GRC], fibre-reinforced cement [FRC] and roto-moulded plastic [RMP] – plus, of course, the sheet metals such as steel in which IOTA specialises. With almost no exceptions, the following material descriptions should be considered ‘red flags’ when searching for potential commercial planters: terracotta / clay, plastic, ceramic, fibreclay, polystone.

  • Usually Bespoke or Customised

    IOTA is all about bespoke solutions, but not all commercial planters need be bespoke. There are planter ranges, based on stock designs, which are supplied by companies with a proven track record in meeting commercial expectations – for example: Urbis Planters. Importantly, these companies only work with industrial materials, as above.

    With these few exceptions, commercial planters are almost always bespoke solutions developed around the specific requirements of a project.

  • Design Integration and Contractual Integration

    Where a bespoke solution is required, then it’s all about the complexity of the brief.

    • At its simplest, all that may be required is a few project-specific tweaks [such as dims. and arrangement] on a solution that has worked before.
       
    • At its most complex, the commercial planters have to be design-integrated, and contractually integrated, with several other subcontracts, all of which must ‘pull together’ to achieve the desired result – cost-effectively, and securely for the long-term.

    These complex projects are where IOTA excels, although we are happy to work on all kinds of commercial planter projects.

Commercial Planters Are Rarely Just Planters

One of the defining characteristics of commercial landscape projects is that planters often perform multiple functions simultaneously. 

A planter may be required to provide a viable living environment for trees and planting, while also incorporating:

Seating

Combining planting with seating to create space-efficient, multi-functional public and private environments. 
Planters and benching with downlighting
Lighting

Integrating lighting within planters to enhance safety and ambience, and to increase perceived value-added [the ‘wow factor’].  
Planter with custom hinged access
Electrical supply

Concealing power supply, and other service infrastructure, within landscape features such as planters.
Terrace perimeter planters with metal balustrade
Balustrades, edge protection

Integrating planting and edge protection objectives within a single bespoke solution, to deliver a better and more cost-effective solution.   
Sectional planter and trellis CAD design
Privacy screening / wind mitigation

Using planters as the structural framework to create comfortable, private outdoor spaces in exposed urban environments.
Road barrier protection planters
Pedestrian protection

Providing effective pedestrian protection, while at the same time enhancing the quality of the public realm.
PAS 68 security planters
Hostile vehicle mitigation

Providing effective solutions to extreme risk scenarios, without disturbing landscape harmony.
Large branded planters in London
Signage, branding

Using planters as a vehicle to reinforce identity and sense of place, and to meet commercial signage and branding objectives. 
Bennethorpe War Memorial artwork planters
Artwork

Transforming planters into distinctive public features and community assets, contributing to place-making, remembrance, identity and civic pride.
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Key Considerations When Specifying Commercial Planters

 

Planting Requirements

Successful planter design begins with understanding the planting requirements – questions to consider include:

  • What type of planting is proposed?
  • Will the planter contain trees, shrubs or herbaceous planting?
  • What soil volume is required?
  • Is irrigation required?
  • What maintenance regime is anticipated?

“Think about the plants first” risks sounding like a statement of the obvious, but it is sometimes overlooked. And this issue is, in truth, often more complicated than it may seem, as it links directly to the issue below – Planting Environment.

Planting Environment

Even if the general planting requirements are fully understood and considered, even more care often needs to be given to thinking about the planting environment.

Domestic gardens can vary, of course, in terms of environmental conditions – but this tends to be at the margin. So the environment in a garden in Newcastle will be different from one in Cornwall, and that may well influence marginal decisions on issues such as plant selection etc. But they are both gardens, at ground level, in the UK; and they are both most likely reasonably sheltered, and – crucially – loved and cared for.

By definition, a lot of commercial planters are in places where the plants would rather not be, if given a vote. Successful design and specification of commercial planters requires careful consideration of the planting environment, and the development of mitigating strategies to give the trees and plants the best chance of development.

Commercial roof terraces present a particularly significant set of environmental challenges – see Roof Terrace Planter Design Guide.

Structural Loading

Commercial planters can impose substantial loads, particularly when housing trees. This becomes especially important where planters are located on:

  • Roof terraces
  • Podium decks
  • Bridges or overpasses
  • Suspended structures

Weight assessments should consider the fully installed and saturated conditions rather than the empty planter alone. And, for larger tree planters, the growing medium and retained water frequently account for the majority of the total load. For more detailed discussion of weights and loadings, plus some weight estimating guidance, please see: Tree Planter Design Guide.

Drainage and Irrigation Integration

Although drainage and irrigation systems are often designed by specialist contractors, the planter must accommodate these requirements. Typical considerations include:

  • Drainage layers
  • Reservoir systems
  • Overflow arrangements
  • Irrigation pipework
  • Maintenance access

As already discussed, detailed design integration and contractual integration – from the outset – is often required to avoid conflict, and to ensure the long-term success of the commercial planter installation.

Access and Installation

One of the most frequently overlooked aspects of commercial planter design and specification is installation. Questions that should be resolved include:

  • Can the planter reach its final location?
  • Is crane access available?
  • Are there restrictions on component size [for example, what is the size of the service lifts?]
  • Will sectional construction be required? Designing large scale planters in multiple sections.
  • How will installation affect the project programme?

In many urban developments, access constraints become a defining design consideration. Ideally, these issues should be resolved within the specification documentation, but very often that is not practical [such as on a new-build development]. However, at the very least, all of these issues must be resolved before final Status A Shop Drawings approval.

In addition to installation. IOTA offers a full suite of site works services – such as levels surveying, and on-site product templating – which can inform design before Status A approval.

Long-Term Maintenance

Commercial planters should be designed with long-term maintenance in mind.

Again, it is not always practical to address this at the conceptual design and specification stage. However, again as with installation, these issues really should be resolved before final Status A Shop Drawings approval. In the majority of commercial landscape schemes, long-term maintenance will fall within a plant maintenance contract – with the contractor being made responsible for the long-term development and survival of the trees and plants.

Different plant maintenance contractors have different points of view – and use different systems for [say] irrigation. So, wherever possible, IOTA advocates that the plant maintenance contractor be appointed before designs are Status A approved, so that the contractor can contribute to the design.

Choosing the Right Material

IOTA manufactures planters in all sheet metal materials, including Corten steel, aluminium, stainless steel and powder coated finishes, selected according to project requirements, environmental considerations, and design life performance expectations. The most commonly-specified materials for commercial planters are:

Corten Steel Planters

Corten steel develops a distinctive patina, which acts as the perfect foil for all manner of commercial planting schemes. Corten steel is also not as expensive as often thought, and 'it lasts forever'.

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Powder Coated Steel Planters

Powder coated steel is the cheapest material option, and on many commercial landscape projects, cost is of paramount importance. Therefore, powder coated steel is the most commonly-specified material for relatively protected environments.

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Three Large Stainless Steel Planters At Garryard House, Ireland
Stainless Steel Planters

304- and 316-grade stainless steels are expensive. However, they do not need painting, are durable and corrosion-resistant, and have a distinctive metropolitan style.

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Super-sized planters for community gardens
Integrated Seating & Landscape Features

Where planters are designed to integrate with seating, screening, lighting, signage etc., then other materials will be introduced – such as timber, glass / acrylic, and electrical components.

Commercial Planters by Sector

Commercial planters play an increasingly important role in landscape architecture. This is true across all industry sectors that incorporate communal landscaped spaces – whether those spaces be in the public realm, open for all, or in other shared spaces designed for a more specific user group.

The objective in all sectors may be broadly the same: “to make the world a better place, which will hopefully convert into some tangible economic benefit”. However, realising those objectives in different sectors may require both differing design and specification emphases, and the careful consideration of which manufacturers can be trusted to deliver these differing requirements. 

Public Realm & Streetscape Planters

Public realm projects often place greater emphasis on durability, robustness and long-term performance. Planters may need to accommodate:

  • Large trees
  • High pedestrian usage
  • Security requirements
  • Complex installation conditions

Also, in many cases, the planter becomes part of the wider streetscape infrastructure, which can be hugely complex; and thus the collateral costs of project failure can be disproportionate. So a consistent track record in the public realm is not just ‘kudos’ for a manufacturer – it demonstrates substantive delivery competence in a complex and high-risk environment.

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Planters for Hotels, Restaurants and Hospitality

High-end hotels and hospitality venues represent an equal challenge to the public realm – in that the performance ‘bar’ is high, and the costs of project failure can be very high.

However, in this case, it is the quality – often the beauty – of execution that is key. Commercial planters for high-end hotels, restaurants and hospitality venues must be of architectural quality, to deliver on the ‘dream’ that is being sold. And, very often, these planters are technically complex, as they must also deliver non-horticultural functionality such as lighting, screening and seating.

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Retail Shopping Destination Planters

Successful retail destinations are about more than shops alone. Attractive public spaces, outdoor seating areas, and high-quality landscaping, all contribute to the visitor experience and positive memory. And this will hopefully encourage long-term engagement, repeat visits, and longer ‘dwell times’. And all that should, hopefully, turn up in the till.

To deliver these objectives, commercial planters for retail shopping destinations are often surprisingly impactful, large and dramatic. They may also serve ancillary functional objectives, such as wayfaring – but the principal objective is most often to contribute to the theatre of the shopping experience – to the ‘wow factor’. 

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Offices and Mixed-Use Development Planters

For offices and mixed-use developments, the overarching objective is often couched in terms of “to improve tenant amenity, wellbeing and workplace experience”.

However, what does that really mean? On a new-build office development, there is rarely a tenant already signed-up in advance. And, even if there is, today’s tenant may very well not be tomorrow’s tenant – and who knows what that future tenant might need, or value?

So, in this sector, the challenge is often about design: and specifically about ensuring that the commercial planter design is as flexible as possible to potential future requirements, such as movable space allocation, privacy screening, and seating arrangement. There are also often some enduring design objectives, such as to screen rooftop plant equipment – like Business Maintenance Units [BMU].  

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Education, Healthcare, Charities

Commercial planters may be used to create welcoming environments, support biodiversity and contribute to outdoor amenity spaces on a wide range of educational, healthcare and charity projects.

These schemes present a challenge, as the objectives are so diverse, and may require sensitive management. For example:

And there are any number of variants in-between, and IOTA has delivered solutions for schools, universities, hospitals, hospices, and other charity or non-publicly funded institutions.

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Build-to-Rent and Mixed-Tenure

Build-to-rent has grown into a sector of its own, sitting alongside “Offices and Mixed-Use” but with its own distinct character: a single landlord, a longer-term resident base, and communal amenity designed to be used daily rather than occasionally. See Landscape Design for Build-to-Rent, Student Living and Managed Residential Developments for the full picture, including Moda Living – The McEwan, Edinburgh, where ten bespoke zinc planters greened three communal terraces across this 337-unit build-to-rent development.

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Student Accommodation Planters

Purpose-built student accommodation is a relatively niche sector, but a growing one, sharing much of build-to-rent’s underlying logic. See Landscape Design for Build-to-Rent, Student Living and Managed Residential Developments for the full picture, including Duncan House, University of London, Stratford E15, where 33 bespoke steel planters were installed at street level and across two communal roof gardens for this 511-bed scheme.

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Need Help Developing a Commercial Planter Specification?

Every project presents a unique combination of aesthetic, technical and operational requirements.

Whether you are developing a roof terrace, public realm scheme, workplace environment or residential landscape, early consideration of planter design can help avoid costly changes later in the project.

If you are developing a commercial planter specification, we are always happy to review drawings, discuss potential solutions and identify practical opportunities to improve deliverability.

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