A dash of green amongst the grey

With our real estate being situated in the west end of London, we don't often get the opportunity to build something new. So when we built 36 Carnaby Street in Carnaby Village, it was the ideal opportunity for us to install our first green roof.

Green roofs are known for their broad benefits to the environment and have a positive impact on biodiversity. They also help to alleviate stormwater runoff and to reduce the heat island effect, which can be a problem in a densely populated urban area like London.

Our green roof covers 35 square meters and is covered with a low-growing colourful carpet of sedum; it includes six varieties in total. Although the system we installed doesn't require irrigation, we included one to make sure we keep the roof in premium condition.

The roof has been in place since 2010 and is now well established; there's an abundance of bees and insects in the flowering months, and the balance of the roof space provides an attractive outdoor recreational area for our building's occupants.