Overview

A £1.2m landscape contribution to a residential and retail development in the heart of Devonshire Green Sheffield, developed by City Estates PLC. A composition of roof courts, plaza and perimeter works provide a green counter balance to this emphatically urban commercial and apartment complex.

Brief

The Scheme brief was to produce an attractive useable amenity space with hard and soft landscape zones within the residential areas of the development. A key factor of the development would be its retail and leisure courtyard, set at street level, bisecting through the residential use.

Approach

The scheme presented to us was restrictive with more than 80% of the proposed amenity spaces located on ground/roof level slabs. This required extensive research into roofing systems and methods of providing intensive landscape, and drainage systems suitable for the location, sustainable and cost effective.

Solution

New developments in green roof technology were utilised on the scheme to produce an intensive roof garden amenity space for the residents of the scheme. In total there were four separate areas providing approximately 43,000sq.ft of useable amenity space. The scheme incorporated strong design elements, giving each garden structure and sense of place, whist providing private space to the apartments around the perimeter of the space. Planting throughout the scheme benefited from the roofing systems used, and has produced a well vegetated scheme with much structural plating including the use of some small trees.

The commercial area of the scheme became a retail Piazza, with high quality paving throughout, defining external seating areas for restaurants and shops, and providing a focal destination for the West One development.

Results

West One development, in Sheffield’s Devonshire Green Quarter is an example of a residential development scheme that has embraced the use of roof gardens. The scheme has large areas of intensive roof gardens that enhance the setting of the development and make it one of Sheffield’s most desirable prime inner developments. A composition of roof courts, plaza and perimeter works provide a green counterbalance to this emphatically urban commercial and apartment complex. The City of Sheffield uses the project as an example of sustainable environment good practice. Their statement, as part of the Devonshire Green Urban Design Decision making includes:

“A private developer worked closely with Sheffield City Council to build the West One. The developers strove to incorporate sustainability issues into both the design and the build of the project. This included energy efficient materials, soundproof insulation, limiting waste, landscaped roof gardens, public spaces and discussion of crime issues.”