Polypipe Civils & Infrastructure is changing its name to Polypipe Civils & Green Urbanisation
The name change reflects a shift in focus towards a holistic approach to water retention, re-use and management.
Green Urbanisation introduces a new generation of techniques that optimises urban green assets through an extended and fully integrated sustainable water management network. This encompasses the provision of hybrid water management solutions that combines green infrastructure such as roofs, gardens and trees with water storage and management systems within a city or other dense urban environment. The benefits are multiple: reduced chance of flooding, increased biodiversity, lowering of the heat island effect, more green spaces and amenities, better air quality, improved health and wellbeing.
“As our cities and towns keep growing, green infrastructure becomes more and more important,” says Steve Durdant-Hollamby, Divisional Managing Director for Polypipe Civils & Green Urbanisation. “It’s not just about making our urban environments more resilient to climate change, it’ s about improving the quality of life for people living and working in them.”
Polypipe’s journey towards green urbanisation started 12 months ago with its acquisition of Permavoid. A high-load bearing sub-base replacement system, Permavoid provides shallow stormwater retention and can be used under permeable, hard surfaces such as roads or car parks or under soft surfaces, where its unique passive irrigation system can act as a water source for grass and plants.
Clever combinations of hard and soft sustainable urban drainage systems (SuDS) are vital if cities are to encourage more green cover and – at the same time - manage more intense rainfall events and prolonged and hotter dry spells, as climate change takes effect. This will require a collaborative approach from the earliest stages of planning and design, involving architect, landscape architect, engineer and water management specialist, in order to optimise the environmental value that Green Urbanisation can deliver.
Polypipe started the conversation around collaboration and green infrastructure in March 2019 when it published its design guide Inspiring Green Urbanisation at Futurebuild. The guide provides case studies and technical details of how green infrastructure can be integrated with water retention and management systems.
Under a campaign name of From the Ground Up, Polypipe Civils & Green Urbanisation will be spreading the word about its new approach – and encouraging more dialogue and debate about our future city landscapes.
