The Office provides flexible managed office spaces. Charlie Green, a qualified chartered surveyor and the director of The Office has been an enthusiastic driving force in the beginnings of the project. Today, the Green Roof System at one of the group’s office buildings in Kings Cross is our showcase “living roof”. Project Start Dates:
2005, 2007 & 2008
Completion Dates:
2005, 2007 & 2008
Participants:
Young People from Westway Motor Project in Kensington & Chelsea, students from La Sainte Union Catholic Secondary School, Kori Youth Club, young people from the Calthorpe Project, boys from Somali Youth Development Resource Centre, young people from Camden Job Train, young people from Queen's Crescent Community Centre, the Generators.
The Project:
The Project: The Living Roof project at The Office Group site on Grays Inn Road, Kings Cross began in 2005 and received two upgrades; one in 2007 and another in 2008. This has being our earliest pilot project in developing Green Roof Systems in London.
Originally described as a “classroom in the sky”, it was designed as a “kids-build” project including art and conservation features. The initiative has been a collaboration between GLOBAL GENERATiON, The Office Group, livingroofs.org and GartenART.
The first stage of the project was ‘Welding & Construction’. Boys from the Westway Motor Project in Kensington and Chelsea were the first pioneers on the roof. They spent two days removing the iron railings which they later reconstructed as part of their NVQ welding certificate in order to provide us with the approved safety railings.
The next step involved children for the nearby Calthorpe Project who spent three days with a professional photographer documenting the mosaic of cranes, trains, old buildings and green spaces in the Kings Cross area. The project gave them an insight into the wider value of living roofs and the pride of seeing their photographs permanently displayed throughout what was to become a “Living Building”.
One of the biggest parts of the project was creating the living roof surface. Science and Biology students from La Sainte Union Catholic Secondary School spent several Wednesday afternoons on the roof laying down aggregates, sowing seeds, and collecting and transporting bugs. The whole exercise was integrated as part of their A level science and biology curriculum. Children from Kori Youth Club took on the important task of embedding circular blocks of wood within the deposited aggregates. This would form a non-muddy surface to walk while still being an absorbent layer to soak up rain water.
The Office Group's Green Roof was completed in the summer of 2005 and was celebrated with a "Rooftop Picnic".
In December 2007, the Green Roof project continued with the installation of energy saving - carbon reduction technologies by young people from Camden Jobtrain. A solar panel, wind turbine, rain water harvesting system and a grey to green water recycling system were all installed.
During the summer of 2008, two separate upgrade works were carried out on the already 3 year old Green Roof. A vegetable allotment was created and the circular wooden walk ways was replaced with a more durable wood.
The vegetable allotment was created by Somalian youth from the Somali Youth Development Resource Centre, the Generators and Queen's Crescent Community Centre. Led by our chief garden developer Paul Richens, they participated in a workshop for willow weaving to create the large organic baskets which they used to plant the vegetables and herbs.
The Somali boys also participated in upgrading the grounds of the Green Roof walk way.