The Hottest (& Coolest) Thing in Construction

Green roofs, living roofs, living walls – there are many names for this increasingly popular innovation and they are now one of the hottest things in construction. It is not just a UK phenomenon either: Last month, France passed legislation that new buildings in commercial zones must have either green roofs or solar panels. France is not alone. In Switzerland, all buildings must have a green roof if they have a suitable pitch and across the Atlantic, Toronto began requiring some new buildings to include rooftop planting in their design as early as 2009; the requirements now apply to industrial buildings as well. Wide Ranging Benefits We’ve known for years that green roofs save energy and help with the local environment but the health benefits of such design choices are only just beginning to come to light. One of the lesser known benefits relating to the installation of green roofs relates to the fact that by reducing heat transfer through the building roof, can improve indoo
http://www.wallbarn.com/the-hottest-coolest-thing-in-construction/

If It’s Good Enough For Facebook

Facebook employees looking for a break from sitting hunched over a computer don t need to venture far from the company s new office space. They just need to walk upstairs to the roof. A 9-acre green roof sits atop the tech firm s new Frank Gehry-designed building across from its main headquarters, filled with a plethora of native trees and flowers, lawn furniture, white boards, viewing decks and a half-mile walking trail overlooking the city s marshlands. It s more like a park than the top of an office and big enough to accommodate a large number of the 2,800 employees who are expected to eventually fill up the newly opened building, even on a warm summer s day. Boosting Concentration A recent article in the Daily Mail has also highlighted a University of Melbourne study which has found that that the installation of a green roof can also help to improve the levels of concentration of employees. The article explained: Students who glanced at an image of a flowering meadow green roof in
http://www.wallbarn.com/if-its-good-enough-for-facebook/

A Great Example of TD Decking Supports at Work

We recently supplied TD decking supports for a project called Commodity Quay in St Katherine’s Docks near Tower Bridge. Re-Waterproofing Refurbishment Project There were already existing paving and decking in place on the podium deck and our client was looking for the ideal way to match the levels up perfectly and this completed project offers a great example of just how the pedestals can be installed onto an existing deck for a re-waterproofing refurbishment project. Because the contractors were able to twist the adjustable stems whilst the timber joists were in place, they were able to get the correct levels easily. The client used very large timber joists, 6 x 2’, but these fitted onto the headpieces without issue. Some of the photos below highlight how that insulation was able to be cut to fit between the cross-joist fixings. The decking pedestals were situated so that water pipes, metal drainage outlets and other services were covered, whilst not interrupting the drainage of
http://www.wallbarn.com/a-great-example-of-td-decking-supports-at-work/

Green Roofs are Gaining Ground

A recent report in the Architects Journal shone a spotlight on the gathering of a number of green roof experts in Istanbul to share best practices. Leading the Way The International Green Roof Association (IGRA) recently organised a congress in Istanbul with the objective of promoting good practice and technical expertise whilst benchmarking excellence in green roof design. Attended by over 400 people, the April event attracted experts in landscape, engineering and architecture, all focused on examining where the science of green roof provision is now and could be in the years ahead. Cities like Basel and Stuttgart lead the way on green roofs through a careful combination of mandatory requirements and subsidies. Regulation & Policy The most important factor is regulation and policy. It’s all well and good for UK urban ecologist Dusty Gedge to speculate that ‘there’s 24 times the size of Richmond Park in flat roofs in London, which could be green tomorrow’; but how does one ac
http://www.wallbarn.com/green-roofs-are-gaining-ground/

What Makes The M-Tray So Special?

The M-TRAY is a ready-grown, fully established sedum, sedum-and-wildflower or wildflower-only green roof loaded into a portable tray, for easier installation of green roofs. Everything Included All the growing, filtration and drainage elements are included in the system and the shape of the modules means that each one is simply laid onto the deck and clipped to the next module to create one seamless, fully established green roof. The M-TRAY modules are pre-grown in Wallbarn’s UK nursery. The empty modules are made from polypropylene and are manufactured with an angled base which creates a large surface area for the roots to establish. The module is lined with a geotextile filter fabric and then filled with the aggregate substrate mix. The exact makeup of the mix depends on what type of plants the growers are propagating in that particular batch. Highly Flexible The major benefit of M-TRAY is flexibility. Getting to the roof is not a disruptive and costly process, which is a huge adv
http://www.wallbarn.com/what-makes-the-m-tray-so-special/

CASE STUDY: Snowfields Primary School – London SE1

Resurface and overlay project on flat roof on Victorian school building whole area 100m2 – 50% hardwood timber decking, 50% bonded artificial grass. Main contractor / client Kier, subcontractor PM Associates – May 2015 The area was a flat roof on top of a 5 storey school in South London. The client needed to re-waterproof the deck and install a hard landscaping surface on top. The project was constrained in a number of ways, including the fact that access to the roof was only available via a narrow stairway up the 5 storeys and, being a working school, the only timescale available to carry out the work was within a one-week half term window in May 15. The subcontractor overlaid the deck with a synthetic fully bonded waterproofing membrane. A timber decking and artificial grass finish was desired by the client. The contours of the deck surface could not be compromised and the area needed to be free draining. However, the warranty from the manufacturer of the membrane would have bee
http://www.wallbarn.com/case-study-snowfields-primary-school-london-se1/

Refurbishment project in Bermondsey, SE1

We were recently called in to help complete a refurbishment project in Bermondsey, SE1 which involved us acting in the role of advisor to the main contractor as they worked towards resurfacing the flat roof at the top of the school for the pupils to use as a play / outdoor classroom. The main contractor was Kier Services – Facilities Management and the sub-contractor, who called Wallbarn in for advice, was PM Associates. Working To a Tight Schedule The time schedule for the project was extremely tight with the roof needing to be re-waterproofed and covered with the hard landscaping in the one-week window of the half-term break.  The roof deck was built to a fall to allow adequate drainage off the surface, the overall fall across the 10 metre length was approx. 100mm. Access to the roof area was very restricted. Working with no crane resulted in all of the products having to be handballed up five flights of a very tight, Victorian staircase. Handballing 3 metre lengths of timber dec
http://www.wallbarn.com/refurbishment-project-in-bermondsey-se1/

Hampton Court Flower Show 2015

The RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show recently celebrated it s 25th year and marked this very special anniversary with silver anniversary floristry, historic gardens and scarecrows celebrating the past. As ever, Hampton Court s famous rose displays wowed visitors in the Festival of Roses marquee, with a historical theme throughout. Diverse Displays The Wallbarn team went along to the show and were amazed at the diversity of many of the displays and delighted with some of the ideas which were incorporated. There are some bird boxes with special wooden bee caves drilled to encourage bees into urban gardens, which will in also encourage other insects, which will in turn encourage birds; thereby increasing wildlife diversity in cities. Along with green roof systems constructed onto specially designed steel frames bike shelters, bin stores; garden designers and urban planners are trying to find ways of increasing the diversity of flora and fauna in urban areas. Some Interesting Facts! U
http://www.wallbarn.com/hampton-court-flower-show-2015/