| Eco-terraces: Urban jungle Eco-terraces are the next big thing in rooftop developments – but, says Stephen Kennett, it pays to have green fingers. Over the years, developers have been perfecting the art of wringing the maximum amount of useable space from a floorplan. Arup Associates’ design for Ropemaker includes four eco-terraces cascading down one side of the building. Gary Alden, a senior landscape architect at the firm, says: “Standard green roofs have become popular and clients and architects see the potential to make them into useable terraces. It becomes a unique selling point for these buildings.” Lee Hosking, an architect with Arup Associates, says the decision to incorporate some sort of useable roof is often dictated by the type of building. “If it’s a tall, slim tower, you don’t have much of a chance,” he says. “But if you have a low-rise building or one that is a series of steps, you consider it straightaway.” Councillor Graham Wilkes at the "secret garden" Walsall's bus station provoked mixed reactions for its modern architecture when it opened last year. But one part of the building remained unseen until Tuesday - a secret garden above the heads of the passengers. Thousands of tiny rock plants have been planted on the roof in an attempt to reduce pollution from the buses and protect the roof at the same time. It is believed to be the first scheme of its kind. Councillor Graham Wilkes, of Walsall Council, said: "This garden was put down to protect the membrane underneath and stops wet penetrating the concrete. It also takes in ultra-violet light and infra-red light and is very environmentally friendly.” Mr Wilkes added: "In another 12 months the garden will be really green. This has never been tried anywhere else and if successful, I can see it going to other places." | Minister welcomes new green building code Beckett positive about UK-GBC's proposed framework to improve sustainability of new and existing non-domestic buildings Planning minister Margaret Beckett gave a cautious welcome last week to the UK Green Building Council's proposed Code for Sustainable Buildings. The minister said: “I am very willing to listen to people coming forward with ideas to reduce carbon emissions. “The code should ensure consistency of approach between all policies, tools, guidance and initiatives. It should set the standards, metrics and targets that all sustainability tools should be aligned to and compliant with.” “At the moment the practical delivery and management of sustainable buildings is being held up by a confusing myriad of different policies, regulations, tools and standards. Britain's new, greener neighbourhoods A developer in Shropshire is building one of the greenest and most neighbourly housing schemes in the country. It looks like it has come straight out of a children's story-book. Each house is a different shade of fruit pastel: raspberry red, custard yellow, lime green. This is the Wintles, a new development of 40 houses on the edge of the town of Bishop's Castle. The buildings are actually designed with some sobering realities in mind: the fact that the planet is getting warmer. The fact that our homes make up around 27% of the UK's carbon emissions; and the target set by the government of reducing our carbon output by 60% by the year 2050. The designer Bob Tomlinson insists the Wintles is a modern development: "We set out to build houses appropriate for the time in which we live. We felt most builders now are using designs from the 1970s and so we looked at what was happening in North America and Scandinavia and came up with a very light and environmentally efficient house.” |