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Environmentalist Lisa Tang says the new Guardian building falls short of being a ‘serious green roof’ |
Green roof at new Guardian HQ ‘dull, bland and cheap’
Campaigners claim developer has missed opportunity to attract wildlife
THE Guardian newspaper – that bastion of social responsibility – was embroiled in a row this week over the “environmental” quality of a green roof at its new seven-storey building at King’s Cross.
The environmental lobby is pressing for all new office blocks in the capital to have green roofs (one with grass or plants) to support wildlife and biodiversity.
But campaigners in King’s Cross fear the roof at the newspaper’s new offices – Kings Place, being built at York Way – will simply not be green enough.
Developers are planning to grow hardy plants and moss on the sedum roof. But some environmentalists describe this option as “bland, cheap and low maintenance”.
Lisa Tang, from Thornhill Bridge Community Gardens, said: “Sedum roofs are often visually dull because they contain little in the way of interesting vegetation such as wild flowers. It has little biodiversity value and normally you can’t walk or sit out on a sedum roof. Sedum soaks up very little water, which is not good if there are floods.”
She argues that a “serious green roof” has to have deeper soil and more diverse vegetation to attract wildlife.
The sedum roof is now in place, with the newspaper due to move from its present Farringdon offices to Kings Place in October next year.
Ms Tang discovered plans for the sedum roof when she visited Kings Place, still a building site, for a recent open day for residents living nearby. She added: “I was disappointed to hear from the project manager that they will be installing only a sedum roof. I know from working at our ecology centre that some roofs are better than others.
“You can have green roofs where you can sit out or hold parties among wonderful rich foliage. This is a missed opportunity to provide an important feature.”
Lisa Pontecorvo, secretary of Friends of Edward Square, supports the call for a “proper” green roof. She said: “It is sad that an opportunity to enhance green corridors around the canal, which is a nature conservation area, may have been lost. I hope there is still time to think again.”
One of Britain’s foremost experts on green roofs, Dusty Gedge, who has advised Islington Council and King’s Cross developer Argent, said: “Of course, it depends on what kind of sedum roof they get. Too many firms try to buy off-the-shelf systems. I would need to know if this roof has been designed by an ecologist.”
Mr Gedge said Islington Council’s housing offices in Upper Street had one of London’s best-designed green roofs, which was installed in April this year.
A spokeswoman for the Guardian said that as tenants it had little input into the size and style of the green roof.
“All I can say is that we understand that the developers have done all they can to meet and exceed the standards required by Islington Council’s planning authority,” she said. “We would rather not get into a debate about just how green this roof will be.”
A spokesman for Kings Place developer Parabola Land said: “A sedum roof is a perfectly normal green roof and is widely used both here and in Europe.
“It is able to withstand extremes of climate better than many other sorts. In addition, Kings Place will use only around two-thirds of the electricity a normal city office building would require.” |
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Precisely because many people find sedum roofs rather bland and
lacking in biodiversity , we have developed a wildflower turf for green
roofs which addresses all those concerns.
Lindum Wildflower is easy to install and provides a colourful display over
many months attracting a wide range of wildlife.
Stephen Fell, Lindum Turf |
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