Bauder’s innovative green roof solutions, carefully installed by E&J Roberts Ltd, met stringent planning rules and earned them the Green Roof awards at the UK Roofing Awards 2018.
Complexity
The planning requirements stipulated BREEAM-rated building that would meet both the National Planning Policy Framework and the London Plan. A green roof and solar PV array were therefore key to the project’s success, despite the relatively small roof area. However, the Bauer solutions managed to combine the two sustainability criteria, leading to a BREEAM Outstanding rating for the building and a reduction in resident energy bills. The green roof, which includes 35 plant species recognised by the RHS as ‘Perfect for Pollinators’, covers the whole roof area and offers a large variety of vegetation. The building reduces its carbon impact with the highly efficient PIR insulation and generates approximatively ten per cent of the flats usage with a maximum possible output of 75 kWp from the 70 PV modules.
Workmanship
As with most modern roof spaces, the scheme had to be designed and installed around soil vent pipes, access hatches and telecom receivers. Careful installation in the limited space and within a tight schedule, was therefore critical to the roof’s success and the contractor EJ Roberts demonstrated excellent workmanship in the installation of the Bauder Bituminous Membranes and a meticulous approach to the challenging roof details. Excellent project management and site orderliness was also crucial.
What Bauder says
This approach met the planning requirements and maximised the limited roof space to generate energy for the residents. The development was certified BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ due to its environmental, economic and social sustainability attributes.
At a glance
- Project: Clapham Park
- Roofing Awards 2018: Winner of Green Roof category
- Client: Metropolitan Housing Association
- Location: London Borough of Lambeth
- Roof covering: Green
- Roofing Contractor: E&J Roberts Ltd
- PV Installer: M&M Electrical Ltd
- Supplier: Bauder Ltd
- Products: Bauder Total Green Roof System; Bauder BioSOLAR; Flora 3 Seed Mix
Challenges
The construction programme scheduled roof completion during mid-winter so that other trades could access the roof to complete their works. This meant the roof could not be established until the spring of 2017. However, Bauder’s use a unique mix of seed, tackifier and mycorrhizal fungus to maximise the germination, which is particularly important when surface watering is not possible. It enabled fast establishment between seeding in April and June, with many British native wildflowers giving a valuable source of nectar to pollinators by August.
Innovation
The project utilised Bauder BioSOLAR, which is an integrated solution for mounting solar PV arrays on green roof where the substrate and vegetation provide the ballasted installation mechanism. This removed the need to penetrate the waterproofing to secure the PV installation. The front edge of the PV panel is set at around 300mm above the level of the substrate, which allows liberal growing room for the extensive vegetation without blocking light.
About EJ Roberts
Working throughout the South East, we specialise in multi-disciplined roofing packages, including green roofs, slating, tiling, asphpalt, high-performance felt membranes, hot melt systems, lead, zinc, copper, and single-ply systems.
