Bruntwood install their first 'Green Roof'

North of England property company Bruntwood has installed its first ever green roof at 1 New York Street, their 111,000 sq ft new-build office development in Manchester’s city centre.

The green roof constitutes a bio-diverse system of sedum, wild flower turf, rubble and rocks, along with various recycled materials that have been specifically engineered into the building’s design to ensure it is as efficient and environmentally friendly as possible. The incorporation of such an innovation has helped contribute towards 1 New York Street achieving a BREEAM excellent rating.

Bruntwood director, Peter Crowther, said, “Our approach to property redevelopment is focussed around getting the very best from existing buildings, without incurring the environmental impact that many other new builds have. The site at 1 New York Street leant itself most appropriately to the creation of brand new office space, which we’ve designed and delivered in the most ecologically efficient way possible.”

It is estimated green roofs last up to twice as long as conventional ones, resulting in decreased maintenance and savings in replacement costs. They also deliver savings on energy heating and cooling costs, with experiments finding that green roofs can reduce heat gains by 95% and losses by 26% compared to a traditionally manufactured modern roof of a similar size.

Peter Crowther said, “Increasing the energy efficiency, longevity and sustainability of our products, old and new, is crucial because it ensures that occupational costs are steadily maintained for the duration of the customer’s occupation. This means our customers are able to plan with certainty for the future, without being subject to sharp rises in service charge costs.”

The green roof at 1 New York Street has also been designed and specified with the aim of attracting the rare black redstart bird into the city centre, emulating a natural area of habitat and vegetation that will stimulate breeding. The number of pairing black redstart’s has diminished dramatically over the years as urban regeneration has encroached upon attractive breeding grounds and a number of local authorities have shown their commitment to bringing the birds back into inner city areas. This initiative, being led by Manchester City Council, is the only one of its type currently running in the North West.