This article has been published (in Dutch) by Vakblad De Hovenier in February 2022.
A custom-built pool with or without a built-in jacuzzi, direct-planted mature trees to enjoy, or high-quality ceramic tiles for a special finish. Every garden design that Knops Tuindesign makes is exclusive and exudes luxury. During the process from design to construction, they use digital surveying with marXact’s UNI-GR1. We asked owner and garden and landscape designer Erik Knops about his experiences with this device.
Clean and timeless designs
“We design and realize exclusive gardens throughout both the Netherlands and Belgium that are easily recognizable due to our own style. This style consists of clean lines and a timeless design that provides tranquillity and exudes the luxury required. Gardens that you enjoy every day, partly because we ensure that green leaves can be seen every season.” Knops Tuindesign works for both private individuals and companies, “but our style is reflected everywhere. It remains custom work in which we look for the balance between executing the wishes of the customer and the content of the existing environment. We can easily measure the latter digitally and take it into account in the design and purchasing phases.”
Preparation, execution, and evaluation
With digital surveying you determine a point, line. or polygon with centimetre accuracy. Mustafa Cakiroglu, account manager at marXact: “During the preparation of a (new) project, gardeners, designers, and other green professionals can survey the existing situation using our UNI-GR1. This is a digital receiver that uses satellite signals to determine an exact position. Indicate on a map where a large, old tree is located that must be incorporated into the design, for example. In addition, you can quickly and easily draw up how large the garden actually is. When you know exactly how many square meters you have at your disposal, you can prepare your (design) work more easily. Property boundaries, existing or new paths, grass, and more. When you know your exact framework, you can also easily calculate how many materials you need to purchase, which also makes your quotes and schedules more detailed. My advice here is to make an inch accurate sketch of the frame you will be working in, being as precise as possible for smooth execution.”
During the landscaping, digital measurements can be used to bring the design to life. For example, by again determining the centimetre accurate position, the stone or shrub can be placed exactly on the drawn place, and the design can be carried out down to the smallest details and plans can be followed. Afterward, the result can be measured as extra control and input for a possible evaluation. This can be with clients, but also with other partners within a certain process.
Knops: “Personally, I use the device in the preparation phase of every project most. I measure where the property boundaries are and where existing planting that we are going to keep is located, then we can design much more easily. Designing a new, luxurious garden that radiates tranquillity is easier when I know which existing elements remain and can play the leading role in the end result. We create peace and harmony around that, with clean lines for a beautiful and personalized result.”
Total package
marXact offers gardeners and other green professionals a total package, UNI-Complete. In addition to the aforementioned UNI-GR1, UNI-Complete consists of the easy-to-use surveying software UNI-Connect, UNI-Cloud to send data directly to and from the project location and easily prepare projects, data corrections to work centimetre accurately, and a survey pole, tablet and holder to keep doing that comfortably – all day long. “UNI-Complete also includes remote support and assistance. We have an experienced team that answers questions by e-mail and telephone and there are even options to monitor users remotely and help them. This allows us to quickly get users back on track when they are unable to find a solution,” Cakiroglu says.
New features and possibilities
marXact releases new features and capabilities regularly. A lot comes from feedback from the field, which the team then works with. Cakiroglu: “We are both developer and supplier of the products, which means we can switch quickly and think along. We regularly release new features and capabilities for free and many of them are based on questions and feedback from the field – or from the garden, of course. We continue to expand and improve the UNI-GR1 and our UNI-Complete package and that is what is seen and experienced. These extensions and improvements are seen by more and more gardeners, tree nurseries, designers, and other landscaping professionals. Entrepreneurs who not only think of today, but of tomorrow too. I am happy to help them with that.”
Pleasant contact
We are asked about our experiences with the UNI-GR1 regularly and I always give an honest answer. Everyone benefits from that and you know where you stand. I experience our contact as pleasant and uncomplicated and that is what I pass on to others. When I have a question, there is often a quick answer and the fact that new possibilities are added, makes working even easier,” concludes Knops.
