Re-greening by congested A4 in London

The re-greening of a 1940s, West London, luxury apartment block refurbishment continued with two more garage roofs completed in quick time by The Urban Greening Company. 

Re-greening by congested A4 in London

finished re-greening on the garage roof

The 25 sq.m of sedum roof, added to a 30 sq.m. installation earlier in the year. They will help improve the water attenuation within the heavily populated and traffic congested area of Barons Court.

The project is a continuing development of our working relationship with Mike Barrett of Manorfield UK roofing. Underlining the benefit of independent, professional waterproofers working with like-minded professional green roofers.  

 

Re-greening by congested A4 in London

another angle of the completed green roof

Avoid green roof remedial work

Part of our summer work has been spent carrying out green roof remedial works on two large unmaintained roofs. One a 2,000 sq.m. roof on a school in Anglesey. The other being a lovely, 300 sq.m. sloping roof on a church in Reigate. Both needed replacement sedum across areas of the roof and a heavy dose of organic fertiliser to give them a chance of recovery. We also installed an irrigation system on the Reigate church to help the sedum cope with the gradient of the roof.

Avoid green roof remedial work  Avoid green roof remedial work

Repairing Large green roof Anglesey

Access was an issue at both sites with no design consideration for roof maintenance, but use of scaffolding towers helped reduce the pain, although seagulls’ nesting at Anglesey created a challenge!

Both sites provide a clear example of the need for regular maintenance and show how much this helps green roofs fulfil the purpose of sustainable urban drainage (suds) and biodiversity and extra biodiverse habitats in urban environments as well as ensuring they provide a point of beauty for locals.

Happy clients = more profit for roofers 
The late spring sunshine has seen a surge in green roof enquiries and a demand for quick turn round installations resulting in happy clients. The Urban Greening Company have been able to deliver in order to keep our growing list of waterproofing customers and their clients happy.
Happy clients = more profit for roofers 

Barons Court redevelopment greenroof

 

                        Happy clients = more profit for roofers 

Green roof adds instant improvement

TUGC: green roof specialists working together with waterproofers

Mike Barrett, MD of Manorfield UK roofing is the latest customer to benefit from our efficient and professional service. The installation of a sedum roof on a luxury apartment block refurbishment in west London. 

“We had short notice on this job but the TUGC lads came up trumps, completing the installation in a day leaving me with a very happy client who is already talking about more projects as a result of the quality of the work done,” said Mike. 

Happy clients = more profit for roofers 

Clean roof with edge installed

Happy clients = more profit for roofers 

The greenroof helps finish off the refurb

The next phase is to be completed in the near future.

Green Roof brings breath of fresh air to Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre

The installation last year of a unique green roof brings breath of fresh air to Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre and is now bearing fruit in an area surrounded by one of London’s busiest road and rail networks.

Following a routine maintenance visit this summer by The Urban Greening Company (TUGC), who installed the roof last year, they felt compelled to share the results.

When TUGC took the project on the challenge was to convert an inert stone ballast roof in the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea into a wildlife area to provide much needed green space on a roof sandwiched between the busy A40 flyover and the Great Western Mainline rail route to Paddington.

The next challenge was how to get the 110 sq.m of green roof onto the top of a four storey building quickly, economically and without disrupting the day-to-day activities of a busy community centre. Combined with this, a lightweight solution was critical to ensure there were no weight issues.

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Groundwork London, commissioned Dusty Gedge of Green Inrastructure Consultancy Ltd to design a scheme.

     Green Roof brings breath of fresh air to Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre     Green Roof brings breath of fresh air to Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre

The clear solution was a portable green roof – Aquaten LiteTM. The cushion like structure containing a mix of seed, substrate, recycled natural fibres and Aquaten’s unique water absorbent fabric weighs 9kg, which enabled a team to install the roof in less than a day without disturbing the natural order at the centre. The Aquaten LiteTM  locks in rainfall and moisture to create positive growing conditions for the vegetation to develop.

As Mike Cottage of TUGC pointed out, “We’ve converted an ugly river stone area into a natural habitat and when we revisited the roof this summer the transformation was spectacular; the variety of species and plant growth were phenomenal as the simple video will show.” 

Furthermore, the roof saw the first use of a fabric which absorbs and neutralises pollutants from the atmosphere – Aquaten CleanAirTM – a much needed boost in a congested area.

Bulent Kazim, project manager for The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea said: “We are trying to create wildlife habitats across the borough as well as sustainable urban drainage to combat the effects of urbanisation and the living roof at the Centre qualifies on both of those counts.”

Abdurahaman Sayed CEO at the Centre commented “We had been looking at ways to create a more user friendly habitat on the roof of the centre and the Aquaten solution can now be seen to be reaping rewards.”