Greenspace in Landscape and Building Design

Photo credit - Freehaus

Our 1% Better Every Day topic for the month has been ‘Green Space in Building and Landscape Design’. With the necessity to fight global warming being a very urgent issue, it is essential that we adopt a pragmatic approach to reducing unsustainable architecture. With much of our urban landscape dominated by vast concrete structures it is clear where a major problem lies – the lack of greenspace within our modern environment.

Heat Island Effect

With over half the world’s population living in urban areas, urban sprawl is increasing, and while this development has been good for economic growth, it has seen the introduction of the ‘heat island’ effect. The ‘heat island’ effect refers to the issue of cities having higher temperatures than their neighbouring natural landscapes. This is due to the infrastructure (roads/buildings) absorbing and then re-emitting the sun’s heat, more than trees and water bodies do. London, for example, has been recorded to have temperatures 10 degrees hotter on warm days than the surrounding countryside and, on average, is found to be 4.5 degrees hotter.

Heat monitoring by Arup recorded the worrying statistic that the more deprived areas of the city are those with the highest heat fluctuations, due to their lack of vegetation. Indications show that a quarter of a million vulnerable Londoners live in these ‘hot spots’. More affluent areas, such as those surrounding Regents Park which has 89% vegetation, are on average 7 degrees cooler during the ever-increasing heatwaves.

Whilst greenspace is vital in reducing these heat islands and the effects that they have on global warming; green space is also essential across other aspects of sustainability. The most obvious of these aspects is the effects on biodiversity. Animals and insects clearly need varied habitats to thrive. However, biodiversity is also vital for human health. Being exposed to a wide range of biodiversity, both flora and fauna, helps promote the growth of good bacteria in our bodies. Having a healthy human microbiota reduces immune dysfunction, inflammation, and poor general health. Access to greenspace also encourages enhanced physical activity, helping to improve relaxation and restoration, improve social cohesion and promote better metal health.

SOLID’s Structural Details on Hillside House

Adding Greenspace to Your Design

With our offices located in the very green landscapes of the Cotswolds and Buckinghamshire, it is easy to see how complacency occurs. For those with beautiful countryside on their doorsteps their building priorities may not lie in increasing greenspace within their design. We also know that redesigning urban landscapes is by no means a quick fix solution, for those living in cities it can feel impossible to know where to start.

Our ‘One Percent Better’ mission is aimed at doing just that, starting. Begin by making small changes, because small changes can add up to make a big difference. One of our suggestions when beginning a building project is to first consider where you might be removing greenspace and is its removal completely necessary?

Grade II Listed House Renovation

Construction projects, even those on a small scale, generally remove some greenspace. When you extend your home, or add a garage, for example, you will usually cut into some of your garden space to accommodate it. One of our current engineering projects offers an example of a solution. Our clients at Hillside House approached architects Freehaus to redesign aspects of their Grade II Listed Cotswold house. The existing property had some aspects that were newer 20th century additions not in keeping with the original period features. They wanted these removed and replaced with a new extension more sympathetic to the original building fabric. The family also wanted to maximise views from the property and reinstate an historic barn – linking it to the main house and adding a large picture window that opens out onto the garden.  

Green Roof

Alongside the main house renovations our clients wished to add a carport at the end of their garden. It was decided that rather than simply remove a section of their garden to accommodate it, the carport would instead incorporate a green roof to preserve the green space.

The carport with its green roof, nestles against the existing raised garden with a stepped retaining wall to accommodate the change in level.  This wraps around the existing courtyard with a shaded pergola to extend the usable space in the garden for storage and socialising.  Oak flitch beams are supported on square oak columns along the front edge defining the parking bays, and onto the stone-faced retaining wall structure at the rear, providing a traditional feel to the new structure.

Whilst adding green additions such as green roofs to a property may not seem much and may not put an end to global warming, they are excellent places to start as is simply planting more trees or wildlife boarders. Imagine how green our world would look if we all implemented these small changes? Throughout our 1% Better mission we will endeavour to make small yet sustainable modifications to ensure we change the world for the better.

Our SOLID team have enjoyed working alongside Freehaus and Untold Interiors on Hillside House and we look forward to updating you on the project in the coming months.