More than 1.25 million visitors have so far been welcomed to the Sky Garden at 20 Fenchurch Street, London. Waterscapes Limited has been instrumental in the design, installation and maintenance of the irrigation systems that continue to make this unique public realm, with its own micro-climate, a major attraction.
The Sky Garden has contoured zones of Shade Tolerant Forest, Transition and Flowering plants. With such a complex installation 160 metres above the ground, the landscaping contractor Willerby Landscapes recognised the importance of engaging a specialist company to provide automatic landscape irrigation systems that would meet the differing requirements of the these zones. This included concept to completion services covering irrigation consultancy, system design, plant rooms, pump systems, pipework, schematics, detailed product specifications, hydraulic performance calculations and installation.
Designed by Waterscapes, Sky Garden's dedicated plant room on the 35th floor has addressed all the logistical and maintenance requirements for the installation. The irrigation and misting systems, pipework and nozzles, water softening and reverse osmosis systems that extract all the minerals, nutrients and impurities from the water before it enters the misting equipment, were designed and installed by Waterscapes.
A Rain Bird ESP LXD controller is at the heart of the system, providing simple centralised control and allowing individual timed irrigation programs to be set for daytime operation of up to 8 or 9 hours during the summer months. It has a capacity of up to 200 stations and features in-built flow management to control water use. “The ESP LXD's simple installation, easy programmimg and user friendly interface were key,” says Waterscapes' Paul Jeffery.
Rain Bird surface Dripline, supplied by LWS, is installed throughout the Sky Garden's zones.The flexibility and pressure-compensation features of this inline emitter tubing made it the ideal choice to irrigate the plants exactly where needed, without risk of water evaporation under the glass roof and it was also suitable for use with the lightweight soil on the steep sloped landscapes.
From the stainless steel pumps, water softening systems and valves to the compressors, filtration systems and UV units, the installation uses the highest quality components. Waterscapes was able to provide advice on particular aspects areas such as the use of flowmeters and irrigation booster sets for use with Rain Bird's Dripline irrigation system. The company was also responsible for the design and installation of the ground floor irrigation plant room and equipment, together with the external irrigation system that uses. Rain Bird surface Dripline line emitter tubing.
Waterscapes' and Willerby Landscapes' cooperation has continued into the on-going comprehensive daily maintenance regime where the over-riding priority is to keep all plants healthy and flowering. This involves everything from checking for plant damage and employing pest control measures, to ensuring the feeding, watering, misting and drainage programs are operating correctly. Willerby Landscapes' on-site engineer Matt Reade says, “2017 to date has been the coldest year since the opening of Sky Garden and this has put extra onus on ensuring the maintenance regime is implemented without any hitch. I can call on Waterscapes at any time if required to attend to any issues on site and their response is excellent,“ says Matt.
A key part of the ongoing success of the Sky Garden installation is a continuous review of the capabilities and performance of the irrigation systems. Waterscapes provides all the advice, recommendations and and support that Willerby Landscapes may require. For example, for more versatile management of the irrigation system, Rain Bird's IQ Cloud internet based management may be considered in the future simply by adding a cartridge to the existing ESP LXD controller. “Rain Bird products are always ahead of the game. When new products are launched they have been well thought through and can make a significant impact on the performance and flexibility of any of our installations,” says Paul Jeffery of Waterscapes.
Contact Waterscapes Limited, 1 Murray Court, Wincanton Business Park, Wincanton,, Somerset BA9 9RX. Tel 01963 824166, Fax 01963 824443. email: Paul.Jeffery@waterscapeslimited.com.
Contact Peter Longman, Rain Bird Europe, Northern Europe Landscape Area Manager, Tel: +44 7575 626600 email: plongman@rainbird.eu www.rainbird.eu
