Watermark Place

• Rooftop Gardens

Frosts Landscape Construction were delighted to accept the challenge of undertaking the design detail to all three terraces of the 12-storey Watermark Place development, which offers a bridge between the maritime trading past of the Thames and the economic dynamism of today’s City of London.

Three atria allow natural light to flood the wide-span office areas while outside a new public realm creates the largest open area on the City waterfront.

Designed to reflect the heritage of its site, this landmark project provides 50,000m² of flexible high quality office space minutes from the bustling financial district.

It was an important factor that the roofs not only offer amenity areas for staff to use the terraces, but also in terms of sustainability and biodiversity with a 2500m² extensive roof on the 12th floor. Green Roofs were also incorporated in the scheme design for rain water attenuation, and to support ecology as well as improving the efficiency of the building thermal envelope.

Landscaping to three terraces: Level 12 received 2500m² of Extensive sedum mat laid around and under the Solar panels. Frosts also commissioned a specific mix of species to tolerate the shade of the Solar panels.

Levels 5 and 6 are intensive roofs, both designed to exceptional high standard and constructed to very tight tolerances. Works consisted of 1200m² of Crossland Hill Yorkstone paving laid on pedestals, in excess of 500m of Bespoke stainless steel gratings, several hundred metres of hardwood cladding built in a stack effect, all drainage, irrigation, M&E associated with irrigation and lighting, two granite rill water features, 1200m² of planting and fine lawns.

Planting to both levels 5 and 6 have been arranged in a series of square and rectangular blocks, with planting strategically set out to compliment the whole hard landscape design.

Frosts experience was put to the test while endeavouring to carry out the extremely tight tolerances of the detailed design on this project.

On arrival the full design concept can be easily missed when you step onto the roof, it is only when you study all the aspects of the materials coming together that you can fully appreciate the difficulty in setting out such a scheme. Obviously we are very proud of our experts/skills within our Company, who were able to deliver such a complex design to completion.

An engineer had to be onsite for the majority of the build to ensure all elements were precisely set out, and checks were made that all the paving lined up with the water feature, the stacked timber section joints lined up with the paving joints etc. The complexity becomes evident when you view the masterplan of the south west terrace. The final result is outstanding and has exceeded expectations of all involved.