Crossrail Place Roof Garden
Parex goes up on the roof in Docklands: An exciting roof garden development set in the heart of London’s Docklands commercial centre features a combination of Parex Streetscape materials used for its paved walkways.
BS7533-compliant Parex Streetscape hard landscaping materials were used by specialist contractor Blakedown Landscapes (SE) Ltd, of Woking, for bedding, bonding and jointing work at the Crossrail Place Roof Garden at Canary Wharf.
The Crossrail Place Roof Garden development won first prize in the category ‘Innovative Concept or Design of a Contemporary Park or Garden’ at the 2017 European Garden Awards. Developed by Canary Wharf Group the garden is the first new building to open for Crossrail, London’s new eastwestrail link.
Located above the new Canary Wharf Crossrail station, the garden is a celebration of the docklands maritime heritage, showcasing unusual plants from across the globe beneath an intricate lattice roof designed by architect Foster and Partners.
The central walkways through the garden feature Zimbabwe Black Granite setts which have been laid on a bed of Parex Fine Bedding Concrete. The setts, 155mm wide and in random lengths of between 400 and 600mm were each treated with a slurry of Parex Bond Plus mortar on the laid face to improve adhesion and bond strength with the base FBC substrate.
Once laid, the nominal 10mm joints between the setts were jointed using Parex Granatech high strength jointing mortar which was applied as a slurry then cleaned to a finish using a mechanised cleaner.
The hard landscaping also features black concrete planks measuring 2400 x 450 x 150mm which are etched to expose the natural stone within the mix. These were also laid using Parex FBC which Blakedown Landscapes ordered supplied direct to site in a replenishable silo to meet demand for the volumes of material.
The use of silo-based product allowed automatic mixing on demand, limited the amount of storage area required from materials and substantially reduced transport requirements and packaging, in addition to improving health & safety standards by substantially reducing the amount of dust created on site.
The Crossrail Place Roof Garden provides a green oasis in the heart of the energetic commercial centre of the bustling Docklands. It is free to enter and offers a broad choice of bars and restaurants including the Giant Robot "street food" venture.
Client: Canary Wharf Group
Architect: Foster and Partners
Main Contractor: Canary Wharf Contractors
Landscape practice: Gillespies, with support from Growth Industry
Hard Lanscaping Contractor: Blakedown Landscapes Ltd
Parex Materials Used
Bedding: Fine Bedding Concrete (silo supplied)
Bonding: Parex Bond Plus mortar
Jointing: Parex Granatech
Images Copyright of Paul White Photography