The rooftop garden at John Lewis on Oxford street has been open to the public for most of the summer 2016. Originally rooftop garden had limited access – for staff with an interest in gardening. However this year, the roof had a make over. Oxford Street’s Rooftop Garden Before the make-over, the lay out of…
A green living room bringing nature into the city and providing resilience. Green walls providing Resilience in Cities – The Green Living room The TURAS Green Living Room, like all green walls, provides many benefits for both local communities and the local environment: Increases wildlife: providing wildflowers and supporting birds and insects such as…
Emporium shopping Centre – Malmö The green roof above the Emporium shopping Centre is probably one of the largest green roofs in Scandinavia. Situated in Hyllie on the outskirts of Malmö, the roof is accessible to the public. The green roof combines both semi-intensive and extensive green roofs, furthermore with the cranes in the background…
Blue infrastructure and blue/green infrastructure appears to be the new game in town. But why is this so when we already have green infrastructure? Is it all just marketing spin or is it primarily because there is a need for a new trendy term to attract interest?
The lizards climb onto these specially designed green roofs by way of special gabion towers. The stony structures connect the roofs to the ground. Today’s green roof photo is a special one. Not as green as most green roofs should be, it was originally designed specifically for wall lizards. Built over 16 years ago,…
Biosolar roofs – Nature and solar can work together on green roofs. The current London Mayor made a commitment to increasing the amount of renewables on roofs in London. This weeks featured image clearly shows poppies and other wildflowers in full bloom beneath a solar array on a roof. The roof in question…
Retrofitted green infrastructure in the Urban realm Green features retrofitted into housing estates can have a real impact. It is essentially to work closely with the communities in question. This weeks featured video not only shows the benefits to the environment but also to the people living in the neighbourhoods. Retrofitted rain gardens and small green…
From retrofitting to bees via solar farms, this weeks crosses the globe to find the most interesting stories last week. This weeks round up sponsored by Bee highways – green roofs are part of route First up the bee highway in Oslo that is helping to transform the city. The idea is simple – wherever possible…
Green walls on a school in France just show what a great impact vegetation can have. Green walls – native vegetation on the vertical Visiting this school in Obernai, Alsace in May was a real treat. The green walls are not only stunning but also part of a mitigation strategy for lost urban space…
“Sponge’ is the theme again of this weeks round up. Sponge, as a concept, is a key concern for the city of Rotterdam. The term is more widely used in China, where the ‘Sponge’ city concepts is explored in an interesting post. Then we take the focus to green roofs – why aren’t there more?…
Whilst there is welcome buzz about bees in the media, how much is there on green roofs? Is there a buzz about researching nature on green roofs? Or is it a mere whisper? New research such suggests the latter.
Do the public think green roofs are about nature or engineering? This question launched our first green roof poll of 2018. The clear answer is the public think green roofs are about nature. Of course a simple perceptual question doesn’t drill down to a granular level. It does, however, present give a taste, in the…
Do green roofs provide a solar boost? New research in Kansas certainly suggest they do. Whilst a boost to energy is important, the biosolar approach should also boost nature. New research in London does just that. Green roof solar boost research A solar panel is most efficient when the ambient temperature is around 25°C….
The Virtual Summit being hosted by Greenroofs.com is running throughout April. Livingroofs.org has presented several talks over the years at the Virtual Summit and this year is no different. As there is a lot going on in London and the UK, Dusty Gedge’s talk is a ‘A View from London’.