IKEA Greenwich - Green Roof

by Chris Bridgman
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2021-03-29 10:55:18
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International
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1298 / EN

Year of commitment : 2019

Biodiversity & Ecosystems : / Urban ecosystem, Ecological engineering, Green roof /

580 408 €

Builder
Bridgman & Bridgman

Bridgman & Bridgman Living Roof Services were contracted to deliver the green elements on a 3500 square meter rooftop garden on IKEA’s greenest and most sustainable store ever built, in Greenwich, London. The green roof and roof garden consist of segregated biodiverse and sedum covered areas, a wildflower meadow, raised urban farming beds for school, community and co-worker use, planters, paving for community activities.

All areas surround a purpose-built rooftop pavilion, which is accessible all year-round during store opening hours. The roof is London’s largest accessible rooftop for people and nature. It is unusual for the general public to be able to access a roof garden in London at any time, for free, especially one that offers so many secure and protected areas for local birds, bees and insects. This is a fantastic example of urban greening and utilising roof space.

Progress Status

Delivered

Data Reliability

Self-declared

Funding Type

Private

Website Enterprise / Infrastructure

http://www.gardensinthesky.co.uk
https://livingroofs.org/small-green-roofs-green-roof-shelters/

Sustainable Development

Attractiveness :

This is a beautiful space for people and nature.

Well Being :

The rooftop is used for rest, relaxation and exercise by the local community and co-workers

Social Cohesion :

The rooftop facilitates community growing with local schools and interest groups.

Preservation / Environmental Improvement :

The team went above and beyond contract requirements by growing the fruit and vegetables from seed, ready to use and plant with the local school and community groups after the main store opening. Relationships are also being formed between Bridgman & Bridgman and the store co-workers, to encourage them to grow and harvest produce on the roof.

Bridgman & Bridgman also created the ground-level wildlife gardens and installed all soft landscapes with seven bespoke green roof bike shelters by Green Roof Shelters, forming part of the contract. The shelters each have a wildflower roof with sand piles, shaped to encourage solitary bees.

In a time of climate emergency and biodiversity decline, this roof offers so many benefits and positive finishes to reduce flooding, insulate the building, new green space, reduce air temperatures, store carbon and create safe secure habitat areas for wildlife and nature.

Responsible use of resources :

IKEA Greenwich incorporates a range of sustainable technologies such as solar power, LED lighting, rainwater harvesting and renewable construction materials while maximising the use of renewable electricity with a super-efficient solar array and a geothermal system supporting the heating and cooling.

There’s also lots of natural light throughout the store, reducing dependence on artificial lighting. The store features three landscaped gardens including a roof garden with a sedum roof to support insect life and raised beds, all accessible to customers and the community. The store is also highly accessible via public transport, with 46 bus services per hour directly serving the site.
IKEA Greenwich is the 22nd full-sized IKEA store to open in the UK. In addition to the rooftop garden and pavilion, the store features a new Learning Lab – a dedicated space for customers, partners and the local community to explore prolonging the life of products, upcycling and reducing waste.

Testimony / Feedback

Hege Sæbjørnsen, country sustainability manager at IKEA UK & Ireland adds: Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do and through our combined efforts across the business and in partnership with others, we have been able to achieve an ‘Outstanding’ BREEAM UK New Construction rating.

“This is a prolific milestone in our journey to becoming a more sustainable and circular business, and also how we hope to inspire change beyond our own business."

“The many new sustainable technologies and initiatives allow us to meet the needs of our customers, whilst staying within the limits of one planet.”

Shamir Ghumra, director of BREEAM at BRE said: “We are delighted that IKEA Greenwich has achieved the highest BREEAM UK New Construction Outstanding rating by a retail unit to date. BREEAM is the world’s leading building design certification and our aim is to drive excellence in
sustainable building practices.

Governance

Holder Type : Private Company

Builder Type : Construction Industry

Sustainable Solutions

Description :

Bridgman & Bridgman are a Living Roof Specialist based in the UK. Our specialist horticultural team have been installing living roofs across the UK since 2009, including Europe’s largest turf roof, a fully convertible green roof and many other living roof installations ranging from 2 m2 to 16,000 m2. We are the perfect partner for developers and building managers, assisting with full design, installation, training and maintenance services. Green roofs have numerous social, economic and environmental benefits and can contribute positively to issues surrounding climate change, flooding, biodiversity and declining green space in urban areas.

Infrastructure
Water management
Environmental charter
Climate adaptation

Photo credit

Bridgman & Bridgman; Ian Hunter

This was an exciting project to be involved in and one that the team is proud to have delivered on time and within budget. IKEA were targeting BREEAM ‘Excellent’ but instead, with enhanced green roof and roof garden features, achieved BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ which makes up one of only 320 buildings around the world to be awarded this highest grade.

Bridgman & Bridgman worked with local groups, including environmentalists from Buglife, to encourage new insects and invertebrates to the roof, such as a local beetle native to the Greenwich area. Bridgman & Bridgman formed working partnerships with Dusty Gedge to introduce the Viper’s Bugloss flower, to encourage rare bees to the newly constructed roof.