LDA Design wins Sustain Award for Biodiversity
9/03/2010
LDA Design's brown roof project at Royal Arsenal Riverside in Woolwich has won the Biodiversity Award at the Sustain Magazine Awards 2010. The project was a joint entry with ecologists Baker Shepherd Gillespie (BSG), with whom LDA Design works collaboratively on a wide range of projects.
The winning brown roof was constructed on Building 10, known as The Armouries, at the former site of the Royal Arsenal, being redeveloped by Berkeley Homes (Urban Renaissance) Ltd, in south east London. LDA Design and BSG worked closely with project engineers and architects to develop the brown roof design to maximise the potential biodiversity benefits of the scheme.
Following completion of the construction of the roof, BSG undertook monitoring of invertebrate colonisation as a part of their biodiversity research programme recording two nationally scarce species.
Neil Mattinson partner, LDA Design said: "During the last five years brown roofs and other forms of vegetated architecture have achieved a significantly enhanced profile and are entering into the mainstream of planning and built development. In addition to creating foraging, nesting and overwintering habitats for a diverse fauna, brown roofs assist with the retention of valuable 'wasteland' and endangered urban habitats and encourage the protection and regeneration of native plant species."
Dr Peter Shepherd, director of ecology for LDA Design and partner of BSG said: "This is a significant brown roof that has provided a great opportunity for monitoring how these features are colonised by plants and animals. The monitoring was made possible by the support and assistance of Berkeley Homes (Urban Renaissance) Ltd for which we are very grateful."
The judges commented: "Not only has the Winner designed and implemented a scheme of ecological integrity, they are also monitoring to assess impacts."
Brown roofs also offer economic and social sustainability, in their re-use of both land and materials. They offer replacement habitats for unused spaces and the use of recycled components in their construction reduces the need for and cost of new materials.
London currently has circa 18,000 square metres of brown roofs. The Royal Arsenal Riverside winning entry has made a significant addition to this, its size of over 5,000 square metres, makes it one of the largest in the Capital.
The biodiversity award is given in recognition of schemes that can demonstrate conservation benefits, impact mitigation and biodiversity enhancement.
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