Wave of Green on Waitrose Roof

The new £14 million Waitrose superstore located in Bagshot, Surrey has been designed with the environment in mind; featuring a continuous sea of green vegetation on its large wave shaped roof that helps replace the green space lost to the building’s footprint and minimise its overall impact on the surrounding landscape.  The client wanted this new build development to serve as a benchmark for sustainability for the local area and this was achieved through the installation of over 4,800m2 of Bauder’s high quality, low maintenance sedum blanket, which is highly visible even at ground level. Prior to the project commencing plans were shared with the local community at public exhibitions to gather feedback, which was extremely positive and in full support of the development. 

The new roof features Bauder’s premium root resistant bituminous waterproofing system, which includes a highly efficient 120mm FA-TE insulation to satisfy building regulations. The pre-cultivated 2x1 metre sedum blankets, which are grown and harvested in the UK, were craned into position on to the roof and then laid in a very similar way to turf by approved contractor Span Roofing to produce the striking wave of vegetation. An irrigation system was also installed to ensure the plants have sufficient levels of water to flourish throughout the year. The blanket features 11 species of sedums with some mosses and grasses to ensure plant diversity and providing various environmental benefits including; rainwater retention, noise absorption and the creation of new wildlife habitats.
  The main challenge for this project resulted from the sheer size of the roof and the strict deadlines that were in place to ensure there was no delay to the opening of the store. To overcome this challenge, over 1,000m² of the lightweight, sedum blanket was installed each day providing instant coverage and greening of the building. 
All roofing works were completed on time and to budget ensuring there was no delay to the store’s official opening in August last year. Jeffrey Thornton, Senior Project Manager from Midas Group, stated, “This eco-friendly building delivers to the client and local community an outstanding green roof that acts as a visual reminder of the importance of sustainability. Bauder delivered high quality, professional support throughout the project, and Span Roofing demonstrated exceptional levels of workmanship in the installation of the roof.”
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