Landscape & Urban Design - Issue 50 2021

Page 68

GREEN & BLUE INFRASTRUCTURE A Blue Green roof completed with RoofBloxx

EARLY ENGAGEMENT DURING BLUE/GREEN ROOF CONSTRUCTION ESSENTIAL FOLLOWING MAYOR ELECTIONS Following Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s pledge to increase the number of green roofs in his reelection manifesto, architects, engineers and contractors are being urged to ensure designs meet both performance needs and British standards. Urban greening projects are expected to increase across the UK, following changes to local and

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national planning policies. One of the key challenges in constructing blue/green roofs, according to ACO Building Drainage, is meeting the needs of the Building Regulations, required standards – BS EN 120563:2000 and BS6229: 2018 – and achieving effective rainwater retention. Currently, as blue/green roofs are flat, they are required to meet

the British standards for gravity drainage on flat roofs. However, while traditional flat roofs are designed for water to quickly drain in the event of heavy rainfall, a blue/green roof retains water for 24 hours or more meaning the primary drainage functions are not the same. As such, there is increased risk of flooding if attenuation systems are incorrectly specified and not maintained.

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