Roof Top Gardens with Landscape products from Elmich Australia

An inner city building in Sydney, known as Holt & Hart, has been given a new lease of life with a complete refurbishment including the establishment of an attractive 1300 m2 rooftop garden.

Vital to the success of the design of the garden areas was the contribution played by Elmich's range of innovative landscape engineering products.

VersiDrain® 25P drainage and water retention trays were installed in the shallow planted areas. "We specified VersiDrain® 25P trays as they enable water to be stored and later reused as well as providing free drainage of excess water" said Paul Hardyman, Director Landscape Architecture at Urbis, a major Australian and internationally recognised consulting firm.

Geotextile was laid over the VersiDrain® 25P, followed by lightweight growing media, plants, colourful scoria and a range of coloured decorative gravels.

VersiCell® lightweight drainage cells, covered with geotextile and decorative gravel were installed at the perimeter areas to allow excess drainage water from the large shallow planted areas to disperse to drainage outlets..

Mainbrace Constructions who was awarded the contract to refurbish and extend the building, selected Elmich's VersiJack® high strength adjustable bearer supports for large decking areas. 'VersiJack® accommodate for falls in the roof slab, are infinitely adjustable and support bearers at heights of 80-1000mm' said Michael Fague, Project Manager at Mainbrace Constructions.

The waterproof membrane was replaced as part of the refurbishment using Evalon,® a sheet waterproofing membrane that is highly resistant to UV and plant roots, backed by a 20 year product warranty and supplied by Green Roof Technologies.

'All of the elements used in the construction of the roof gardens were specified because they deliver visually appealing, highly functional and low maintenance recreational space areas,' said Michael Fague.