Center Parcs Woburn
This prestigious site hosts one of the largest green roofs in the UK
Project Information
Client: Center Parcs
Contractor: Birse Civils
Consultant: Holder Mathias
Product: Plug planted and hydroseeded Green Roofs
Quantity: 10,000m²
Benefits:
- Developed and delivered value engineered solutions
- Design, supply and installation from one company
- Comprehensive product knowledge and installation expertise
Project Description
Center Parcs at Woburn in Bedfordshire is, like all of their resorts, set in woodlands and draws inspiration in its design from the surrounding environment. This £250m development opened in June 2014, and offers modern facilities in a rural setting.
Holder Matthias described the project as the most complex and sophisticated brief they have worked on, and highlight that “Sustainability has been a critical issue throughout and the central buildings have been designed to meet strict criteria, with close control exercised over the use of materials, waste, the use of renewable energy sources and thermal performance. The Plaza also has one of the largest green roofs in the UK.
The Challenge
The roof structure was finished with a metal standing seam system. That meant careful consideration needed to be given to the lifting and placing of materials onto each roof area to avoid point loading and damage to the roof.
The original specification required a pre grown blanket to be installed throughout all roof areas. Geogreen worked with ABG to identify and design a range of value engineered options in order to reduce costs and installation times without risking damage to the seams during delivery and installation of the green roof.
Solution
To overcome the issue of restricted loads on the roof Geogreen developed a method of using pneumatic equipment to blow the growing media onto the roof areas. In areas the pneumatic equipment couldn’t reach concrete skips were used to lift in bulk and control discharge thus spreading loads efficiently.
Geogreen proposed to replace the pre grown mat system with a hydroseed solution and our technical expertise aided a swift approval for this design change. The wildflower seed and mulch slurry was sprayed on each roof area through a network of hoses which drastically reduced installation time on the large areas. Hydroseeding also removed risk of point loading, reduced the necesary vehicle movements to and from site and reduced the overall cost of this operation. Smaller roof areas were supplemented with plug plants.
