"plant"

A residential dwelling with a failing septic tank located very far from the property, no longer fit for use required a new sewage treatment plant.

Another great example of the LivePanel natural living wall at Liverpool waterfront apartments. Modern building designs often create clean, crisp lines and an urban streetscape of hard landscaping and walkways. Adding a natural element might be considered a challenge as space, access and amenity compete, leaving little leeway for extensive planting. There is, however, the most beautiful of options available: the living wall. A solution that can allow a vibrant living expanse of planted material on a vertical plane. That is what has been achieved with this Mobilane LivePanel installation alongside this prestigious new residential development on Liverpool’s waterfront.

The bulk of the project, spread over seven large blocks, used DucoWall Basic to provide plant screening. One element, where higher level glazing needs privacy screening from the walkways below, DucoWall Classic W 50Z is installed inverted so that the areas gain maximum light without sacrificing privacy. Another challenge was to incorporate louvre doors into the plant screening areas without interrupting the aesthetic appearance. Here again a standard DucoDoor solution provided exactly what was required. The DucoDoor can use the full range of DucoWall blades to provide a beautiful and uniform result.

Sylvan Pharmaceuticals site, on the outskirts of Sydney, Australia, is a pharmaceutical plant with cGMP cleanroom facility for the production and supply of products for the treatment and prevention of protein-related diseases.

he Great Blakenham incinerator plant is a joint initiative between Suffolk County Council and waste management company SITA UK. This energy-from-waste facility uses the household and business waste left after recycling, burning materials which would otherwise go to landfill, and generates enough electricity to power 30,000 homes. Although operations carried out at the plant are largely industrial, the appearance of the building itself including the suspended, glass fronted office section required hard landscaping to increase overall aesthetics, as well as providing a SuDS solution to ensure safe and practical surface water removal in the car parking areas...

TEG Environmental was looking for a durable and cost effective roofing solution for its new high-tech in vessell composting plant in Exeter and chose Profile 6 as the ideal solution.

The Blackheath Hospital, a private hospital made up of Victorian houses that from the classical façade of the building required a new waterproofing membrane to the plant room roof, after reports of water ingress to the building below.

This vertical park living green wall at the gateway to Covent Garden is formed of over 8,000 plants from 21 different varieties and provides a real wow factor to the area, and it's in keeping with the history of Covent Garden.

The RHS’s flagship garden installed its first Changing Places toilet a few years ago, and is eagerly anticipating the opening of its second in June.Nora has Polymicrogyria, and as a result she cannot walk or use standard toilet facilities. Her family have always been determined that her disabilities should not stop her from enjoying the things that her twin sister Layla enjoys, such as going on holiday, swimming, or going to the cinema. For them, having a Changing Places toilet is their No. 1 requirement when researching places to go. That is why they decided to become members of RHS Garden Wisley, which boasts a fully accessible Changing Places toilet next to the Welcome building.RHS Garden Wisley is one of the UK’s best-loved gardens, attracting over a million visitors each year. The garden has expanded hugely over the years to its current size of 97ha (240 acres). With their focus on inspirational gardening – rather than a museum of plants and conservation, the dedicated staff are constantly assessing and updating plants and planting schemes to ensure there’s always something new to excite and inspire. The inclusion of a Changing Places toilet is a testament to this value to share the gardens with all of their visitors.

This eye catching living wall sits in the central piazza of Teesside University in Middlesbrough. The Matrix film inspired planting design surrounds a large 36m2 LED information and interactive screen used in university social events.

One of the largest self-supporting display greenhouses in the world Following the renovation of the Grand Pavilion (das Große Tropenhaus, first built in 1906) at Berlin’s Botanical Garden, daylight enters through hundreds of small, heat-insulating yet highly light-permeable glass panes onto one of the world’s most significant collections of rare and endangered tropical plants. The inner panels used in the double-glazing for the overhead sections of the pavilion are made of laminated safety glass using stiff and strong SentryGlas® ionoplast interlayers. For the first time in Germany – following its “special approval” – a special “UV-transmissible” grade of SentryGlas® is used for this application, thereby sustaining the active growth of the plants and safeguarding their preservation

The living wall at the new Postal Museum in London demonstrates ground-breaking living wall technology with the integration of 5 post boxes within a 21m × 3m elevation consisting of 3,468 plants in the freestanding vertical garden structure.

Tropical plants swaying gently in a light breeze – it’s a vision of paradise you would hardly expect to find in a health centre. But in the multicultural district of Bergsjön, outside Gothenburg, this is exactly what greets patients at the newly built health centre.

The Ascent stair unit - Industrial stair system was specified to create a safe means of access over roof mounted mechanical and electrical plant and equipment. The roof area is tightly packed with Air conditioning plant creating a unique challenge to design a safe means of access across it. The Ascent step over / stair unit is able to accommodate spans up to 4.5m and was able to be utilised to create a safe access route. The step over unit is supported on rubber spreader feet which provide a non-penetrative support solution on the flat single ply membrane roof. The stair unit is designed in accordance with BS EN ISO 14122-1:2001 + A1:2010 and Building Reg Part K:2013 and manufactured following 1090 factory production control procedures.

800 square meters of Black Webnet creating an innovative Webnet Green Wall ,providing shade and year-round temperature control for this contemporary office building.The innovative design features our Webnet stainless steel mesh system suspended from roof supports to create a strong, secure and long-life structure for plants to climb up. Planters at first floor level encircle the building to provide low level greening, as well as a base for the climbers.Bringing nature to this urban landscape, the green wall not only makes the office look spectacular, but also provides a habitat for wildlife and significantly improves the building’s carbon footprint. The shade and evaporative cooling of the plants also help to cool the building in summer and insulate it in winter, helping to improve thermal efficiency and save energy costs.

Helmsman System 2000 lockers 3 compartment with plant on doors are supplied and fitted at the Health Club. Helmsman System 3206 Seating are in use also to match the lockers. Helmsman System 3208 Hook Bar is also fitted to match the lockers.

Biotecture recently completed this internal living wall at Legal and General's new flagship HQ in The Interchange, Cardiff. The green wall was installed using Biotecture’s naturally resilient hydroponic system and the planting design includes the icon Legal and General umbrella.

Almost four years on we look back at a distinctive Manchester tram stop within a landscaped park setting that boasts a ‘living wall’ of plants and wildflowers surrounded by extensive landscaping, offering a calm and peaceful environment for passengers who are waiting for the tram.

When Wm Morrison Supermarketsbegan their multi-million pound ‘Back toBest’ investment programme to upgradetheir entire food manufacturing plant,they chose Whittan to deliver 1,500 high quality,hygienic lockers for the securestorage of personal belongings andvaluables.

Mead Johnson is a world leader in infant nutrition, with more than 70 products in over 50 countries. Their new US$325 million facility in Singapore includes a state of the art manufacturing plant, research and development centre and a new regional office.

FlexEJ partners with its sister-company Safetech to design and fabricate specialist large diameter rubber expansion joints.Typically, particularly in the Gulf States, these are used in water treatment, distribution and desalination plants – and it’s these processes that took contingents from our sales and management teams to the UAE recently to see our product installed and operating.Desalination and water distribution in the UAE and surrounding countries are vital, integral components helping to supporting these oil-rich economies, thriving as they do in a desert region.The teams flew into Dubai to meet with our local representatives Parvez Mohiuddin and Mansoor Pullat and find out a little more about how the potable water supply operates in this thirsty city. Plants all over this region are in a continual process of refurbishment; the team were able to see how rubber expansion joints of various sizes had been replaced with high quality Safetech joints during a recent plant upgrade.We have an ongoing and growing commitment to the Gulf region and various projects underway there. Building relationships and developing understanding in the field are very much how we like to do business in both Safetech and FlexEJ so this was an ideal opportunity to share information and make plans.If you are interested in finding out more about FlexEJ’s large and custom-engineered rubber expansion joints, please contact our Technical Sales Team on +44 (0) 1384 881188 or send an email to sales@flexej.co.uk.

Ronafix Pre-packed Wearing Screed 15mm+ was used in the plant rooms and loading bays at One Canada Square. The London skyscraper is the 3rd tallest building in the UK, has nearly 10,000 people working on-site and takes 130,000 deliveries each year!

VDG Property Development has recently joined forces with their own construction company Unibouw to develop the new VDG Warehouse Schiphol II. The new building is equipped with a total of 636.5 square meters of vertical greenery divided into two green walls with the MobiPanel system.In addition to the sustainability requirements, BREEAM-NL certification ‘Excellent’, this also enables the building to meet the high-quality requirements in the areas of nature inclusiveness, biodiversity, ecology and living environment. The green appearance of the buildings is the ‘new normal’ at the business park. Schiphol Trade Park aims to be the most sustainable and innovative business park in Europe.‘The area developer and the ambitions of the Schiphol Trade Park area set high requirements in the area of nature inclusiveness. For example, 95% of the end walls of the building had to be green upon completion. The green facades give the building a fantastic appearance. Nature inclusiveness is becoming increasingly important in project development and this is also the future. It will make the Netherlands look all the better,’ says Richard van Campen – project manager at Unibouw B.V.Nature-inclusive buildingFor the development of VDG Warehouse Schiphol II, design choices were made that enhance the ecological value for the surrounding area. For example, the warehouse not only facilitates an efficient logistic process but also creates space for more greenery and biodiversity.Diversity in plant speciesFor each façade, the climatic conditions have been examined and the choice of plants has been adjusted accordingly. The green façade oriented to the North-West contains the plant species; Campanula Stella, Alchemilla Molis, Vinca Minor, Lonicera Maigrun, Geranium Rozanne, Carex Oshimensis ‘Evergreen’, and Bergenia Bressingham White. In the green façade oriented to the southeast are the plant species; Alchemilla mollis, Dryopteris Erythrosora, Bergnia Bressingham White, Lonicera Maigrun, Riarella cordifolia, Carex Oshimensis ‘Evergreen’, Asplenium scolopendrium and Geranium Spessart. In total, there are approximately 23,400 plants in both green walls.VDG Warehouse Schiphol IIVDG Warehouse Schiphol II comprises 9,636 m2 of modern logistics space and consists of two units. With green facades and panels on both sides, VDG Warehouse Schiphol II presents itself as an extremely sustainable distribution centre. With its ecological elements, the development is not only connected to the surrounding nature, but also to the adjacent distribution centre where a MobiPanel green facade has also been installed.Client: UnibouwArchitect: VDG Real EstateConstruction period: 2022Installation: Mobicare

Milliken's Arctic Survey, Isotherm design was specified for this modern and sophisticated workplace. This textural plank carpet, with Comfort Plus cushion backing was chosen in the cool, calming greys of Antarctic and Snow caves to work perfectly with the natural woods and green planting in this inspirational design scheme.

ESSENZA HOME opts for a sustainable green façadeInterior and lifestyle brand ESSENZA HOME has moved into a new, completely renovated office in Bunnik in 2021. The new office is entirely sustainability-oriented. The Mobilane green façade at Essenza Home contributes to the company’s sustainability vision and provides a warm welcome for its retailers, customers, and staff. Family business ESSENZA HOME has been designing, producing, and distributing home & living products to suit various interior styles for 60 years. In 2021, the company moved to a new office in Bunnik. The building of no less than 2500 m2 is located directly on the A12 motorway. The new premises was built with an eye to the future and aligned with their sustainability vision. Therefore, the sustainable green Mobilane façade was a logical choice.Installation of the green façadeThe installation of the green walls was quick and easy. The green walls, with a total surface area of over 200 square meters, were placed against the stone and wooden façade by means of Magnelis steel omega profiles. The design incorporated the window and door sections and the water and electricity pipes.The almost 10,000 plants are installed in modular cassettes and pixels attached to the profiles. All of the cassettes, pixels, and covers are made of a fire-retardant EPP (B-s2, d0). This material is light, UV-resistant, air-permeable (for good root growth), and fully recyclable. An automated irrigation system provides the MobiPanel green walls with water and nutrients.Plant selection for the green façadeThe plants in the green facades were selected according to various factors. The orientation of the façade, the different flowering seasons, plants that stimulate biodiversity, and, finally, aesthetics were all considered. For example, Bregenis ‘Bressingham White’ is a beautiful spring bloomer with elegant white flowers that bloom from April onwards. The Vinca minor is a strong evergreen covering plant. It also flowers very early in spring. Vinca minor can be used on facades in both sunny and shady spots. The Vinca will produce more flowers in the sun than in the shade. Geranium Rozanne is a carrier plant for wild bees. Many species of wild bees, as well as butterflies and bumblebees, find their nectar here.Advantages of the green façadeThe green wall on the two outer walls is a real eye-catcher. Floor Smits, Head of Brands and second generation in the family business: “As a family business, we find it important to focus on the long term. During the renovation, we, therefore, invested heavily in sustainable solutions. When we were introduced to the possibility of a vertical garden for the façade, we were immediately enthusiastic. The green wall has many advantages, such as purifying the air, increasing biodiversity, and providing a nice haven for bees and other insects. Finally, we want to make a statement and show that we are committed to a sustainable world.” In addition to the office, there is also a b2b showroom and a brand store will be opened for consumers this year.Increased biodiversityRosalie Smits, Head of Channels and also the second generation of the family business, indicates that biodiversity is an important spearhead for the organization.The green façade attracts many insects, thus stimulating biodiversity in the area. As described earlier, the flowers of Geranium Rozanne, among others, provide nectar for many insects such as the wild bee and butterflies. Wild bees and butterflies are an important link in our food chain. They provide 60% of the pollination of our fruit and vegetables.The facades also attract various birds and other insects and serve both as food and as nesting and hiding places. In the cassettes between the plants, birds can nest safely. The first bird’s nest in the green façade at Essenza Home was found just a few weeks after installation.Client: ESSENZA HOMEArchitect: BK PuntConstruction period: 2021Installation: MobiCare

This 1,800m2 living wall in Leeds at at recycling & energy recovery facility, is the largest in Europe. It is a vertical forest that incorporates over 100,000 plants including larger shrubs, small trees and over 700 habitat boxes. At 28 metres tall it is also one of Europe’s tallest living walls

University of Aberdeen Science Teaching Hub’s development is an ambitious regeneration plan consisting 73,194sq ft teaching and laboratory space over three floors, and a plant room on the fourth.  Location: AberdeenContractor: RobertsonArchitect: RSPAspex supplied: Intercoms, & Access Control throughout the building

The 77 metre long living wall on the link bridge at New Street Station in Birmingham welcomes travellers from all over the country to the centre of the city. The living wall creates a pleasant promenade of calming, green infrastructure amongst this built urban environment with the addition of 16,600 plants.

Topseal PU was specified over numerous roofs on this hospital covering 1000's of metres. Topseal PU was chosen due to its BBA certification, high performance, 25 year guarantee, low odour together with the failed asphalt roofs and amount of plant on the roof it was the perfect product.

We supplied and installed over 500m² of Jakob Webnet for the new build sports hall at St Dominic’s College in Harrow. The Webnet, now clad with climbing plants has created a free-standing green wall which provides shade to the building and effectively disguises it, allowing it to blend in to the surrounding grounds.

The £25 million redevelopment of the hospital includes a new emergency department. Working alongside our clients Willmott Dixon Interiors Ltd, GDL were appointed to manufacture and supply the Acoustic Louvres and the Clip-on Louvre screening as part of the 23 hour assessment and A&E refurbishment. Our acoustic Louvres are designed to attenuate medium and high frequency noise breakouts from ductwork and plant room openings and were selected for the existing plant area along Pond Street. This product can be manufactured to suit any bespoke size requirements and is available in single bank or for higher levels of attenuation, double bank.  Our Louvre screening can be located at basement, ground, mid or roof level and can be fixed in a conventional 45º angle or inverted depending on the privacy requirements of the designers and architects. We can also supply single or double leaf doors providing secure access to the screened areas. 

As part of the regeneration programme within the bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics, the Olympic Village (now known as the multiple award-winning East Village) was designed to house the athletes based on reusing the buildings after the games as a new residential district for Stratford.The 67 acres site, provided for 11 residential plots, each made up of 5 to 7 blocks, built around communal squares and courtyards, with water features accentuating the proximity of the River Lea.Radmat Building Products provided the waterproofing system and the MedO Extensive living green roofs on much of the apartments, to provide a low maintenance and self-sustaining plant community. Working with expert horticulturalists, Radmat Building Products have developed the MedO range of living green roofing systems. All systems are suitable for both new and refurbishment projects and are constructed using the appropriate drainage board, filter fleece and growing medium for the planting required.

In late 2017 Helmsman supplied and fitted approximately 70 No System 2000 lockers in a range of 1 compartment in half height lockers, 2 compartment and 3 compartment lockers with plant on doors. Helmsman Frontline Changing Cubicles Frontline Shower Cubicles and Frontline W/C Cubicles are also installed at this Leisure Centres.

The ProjectRobinsons is one of the largest independent breweries in the UK. It has a rich history, with the family brewing in the centre of Stockport since 1849. Its main building is called the Unicorn Brewery, after the pub which the family originally ran from 1838.The bottling plant needed a refurbishment, to help keep employees safe. The brewery requested a highly slip resistant flooring surface, to deal with the inherent risk of liquid spillages in the plant, which could cause hazards. To go with the floorcovering they also needed a hard-wearing, robust, and highly slip resistant stair nosing.The stair nosing would need to have low slip potential in both dry and wet conditions, to help ensure safety in the plant. The main way the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) assesses the slip resistance of flooring and stair nosings is by using a pendulum test, which measures the friction of a surface. In this way, a pendulum test value (PTV) can be given to different products. Any stair nosing must have a PTV of 36, or more, in dry and wet conditions to be considered low slip potential.The ApproachSteven Holland Flooring contacted Quantum Flooring to discuss the most appropriate stair nosings for the project. They decided to go with Quantum’s Ecoglo slip resistant yellow tread material, Eglo-34, fitted into double-channel SF225R Slenderline carriers.Ecoglo tread infills are often utilised for their photoluminescent qualities. From just 30 minutes of charge with either natural or artificial light, Ecoglo’s photoluminescent strips can provide 7 hours of glow in either internal or external environments. Ecoglo also has a slip resistant silicon carbide tread material.Eglo-34 is one of the highly slip resistant silicon carbide tread infills in the Ecoglo range. It has a PTV of 70 in dry conditions, and 66 in wet conditions. These both easily exceed the minimum required guidelines for low slip potential in HSE publications, and slip resistance in BS 8300-2:2018. This made Eglo-34 ideal for Robinsons Brewery.The OutcomeSteven Holland Flooring expertly cut Quantum’s yellow Eglo-34 silicon carbide strips to size, and fitted them in both channels of the SF225R aluminium stair nosings. As Ecoglo tread material is secret fix, there was no need for plugs to hide the screws.The result looks fantastic and helps to ensure the safety of all employees at the Robinsons bottling plant. The stair nosing is durable and has very low slip potential, with the double channel Eglo-34 double treads maximising the surface area of grip. The SF225R profiles have a ramped back, to remove any trip hazard at the back of the steps.With the help of Quantum’s stair nosings, Steven Holland Flooring have ensured a safe, secure and visually pleasing staircase in Robinsons bottling plant. The installation will be used for years to come, helping to prevent slips, trips and falls on the spiral stairs.

 The concept proposed by Urban Planters and Westfield incorporated large timber planters, seating and walkways to bring green country life to a large urban city area. We have now successfully installed several large planting structures around the Westfield Shopping Centre and continue to work closely with Urban Planters in order to achieve the ongoing brief.

Electricity interconnectors play a crucial role in the EU’s strategy to achieve a competitive and integrated European energy market to increase energy security and apply downward pressure to wholesale electricity prices.The 500MW EirGrid East–West Interconnector links the British and Irish markets and brings Britain’s interconnector capacity to 4GW with the 2GW IFA to France, 1GW BritNed cable to Holland and 500MW Moyle interconnector to Northern Ireland.The SolutionThe East-West Interconnector project was financed by a €300 million loan from the European Investment Bank, capital investments from commercial banks, EirGrid equity and a €110 million grant from the European Commission.With such huge sums and massive power in play, security is vital on the 47 miles of subsoil and 116 of submarine cable that connects the Woodland HVDC static inverter plant at Rush North Beach, County Meath, and the Shotton plant on Barkby Beach in North Wales.Zaun secured the two inverter plants for Irish national grid operator EirGrid with around 600 metres of ArmaWeave fencing to 3 metres in height, buried in a concrete cill and combined with a 4.6 metre high Harper Chalice electric fence, which systems integrator Crime & Fire Defence Systems installed.The fence line had to be connected to an intricate underground earthing grid and to incorporate vehicular sliding gates, pedestrian turnstiles and manual gates.ArmaWeave achieves the highest rated standards for fencing defending against forcible attacks. Its unique properties and tight mesh pattern provide no climbing aids and resist cutting attacks with hand, powered and non-contact tools.