Project type: Commercial / Sustainable design

Client: Woolworths

Project value: R 3,500,000

Project description: The emphasis of the landscaping is mainly rehabilitation of this huge site with a main platform on which you could land a jumbo jet. Only key areas we intensely landscaped to screen the large buildings, the main warehouse which covers 48,000m2 (to be doubled in future). The visual impact of this large building from the neighbouring properties is important EIA mitigation requirement. Much thought has been put into the planting design, selecting appropriate indigenous Highveld species which are both frost and drought tolerant. Evergreen trees were suggested in all planted areas around the building. There are more than 230ha were hydro seeded with a seed mixed which include predominated grasses of short height to reduce the fire hazard. Grasses were established on the roof of the main office block as well as the gate houses and the ablution block as part of a “green roof experiment”. 1 000 indigenous trees were planted on site. A large retaining of more than 21,000m2 was planted with indigenous creepers to create a large green wall behind the main warehouse. Additionally, the required storm water retention ponds where modified accumulate water storage for irrigation purposes. The runoff from the roof & hardstand areas will be used to supplement the bulk of the irrigation demand which is saving 75% of the water bill. The boreholes provide the top-up to the ponds, which will in time, once the landscape has completely established, require no potable water supplement through times of drought. This was saving Woolworths more than R 750,000 per year just on water at date of installation. Over the past year of monitoring no potable water was used for irrigation except for the main office roof garden.