To help with Crest Nicholson’s aims in providing the highest quality of design and integration of biodiversity for its developments, JFA were recently asked to attend a workshop to brainstorm ideas for setting ecology and landscape standards for its future developments.
The standards were grouped according to a range of housing densities thus ensuring full consideration is given to ecology and landscape enhancements for all of Crest’s housing developments. Empowering landscape design and ecology to determine the personality of a development is an approach JFA advocates for all their residential clients as it can help secure planning approval especially for schemes in sensitive areas.
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Green roofs and walls are popular enhancement features for urban development projects. The benefits are multi-faceted. If well designed these can improve not only the biodiversity value of a site but also provide an aesthetically attractive feature.
Biodiversity is an indicator of ecosystem health. It can be used as such to quantify a development’s “eco” points. There is significant weight given to biodiversity retention in meeting the requirements of local authorities and statutory bodies such as Natural England and The Environment Agency. Enhancing the urban space with living roofs and walls is an attractive option for many developers. Whilst green roofs and walls do not directly replace ecologically rich ground-based habitats they can cater for a variety of flora and fauna that wouldn’t otherwise thrive in an urban setting. Additionally, they can also make buildings more commercially successful for their enhanced aesthetical value and practical design benefits. The benefits are numerous. These green building features can provide sound proofing, reduce rainwater runoff, foster natural habitat creation and help reduce energy consumption by regulating temperature. JFA are working closely with clients during the planning and design stages to ensure that living wall and roof designs complement the architecture and enhance biodiversity at the same time. Our team of ecologists and landscape architects work together to either provide a complete design or advise designers on the best choice of species for the project and location. Our expertise in this area is a significant factor in the acquisition of higher BREEAM credits. Examples of our recent projects include green roof installation at the Royal Arsenal Hotel in Greenwich or Templeback in Bristol and we are currently proposing a number of living roofs in development projects within the South East and around London. If your project requires biodiversity enhancements, a living roof or wall may be a viable option. |
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