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In 2019 National governments and local authorities are increasingly taking measures to improve air quality in towns and cities, with air pollution widely recognised as the most significant environmental risk to human health in the UK, and the fourth biggest threat overall - after cancer, heart disease and obesity. DEFRA published its ‘Clean Air Strategy’ that laid out a series of goals and actions required to achieve them, including the reduction of toxic pollutants like nitrogen oxides, pa...

A new public Atrium, built to link seven buildings on Binney Street in Boston Massachusetts with a large public park, has now opened. The Atrium which features three Jakob Webnet structures, has been constructed in the centre of the group of buildings, with the architects designing the new open space to allow access through the site from neighbouring buildings to the new park. The Atrium is designed to feel like an extension of the exterior landscape design at the ground floor, with natural...

What are the benefits of vertical planting? Vegetation provides a multitude of environmental and social benefits including improving air quality, reducing pollutants in run-off, reducing noise, creating a habitat for wildlife and reducing flood risk (e.g. by retaining rainfall within soils and canopy). There are also well documented physical and psychological health benefits. Vegetation can cool the air within and surrounding masonry by providing shade, evapo-transpiration (leaf respiration of...

With the Wimbledon Championships and the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show now in full swing, summer is definitely here. And when we were asked to contribute some of our Jakob stainless steel wire ropes for the RHS Kitchen Garden at Hampton Court, we were delighted to say yes. Particularly when we heard that the garden was being designed to champion edible growing and to promote different ways of growing fresh food at home. Created by award-winning designer, Juliet Sargent, the Kitchen Ga...

It’s not every day that we get a call from a TV producer, but that’s exactly what happened back in April when one of the team from Alan Titchmarsh’s ‘Love Your Garden’ show rang to talk about a project they were undertaking in Plymouth. We were asked to get involved in the first programme of the new series (which was broadcast last night, 21 June, on ITV1) and when we heard the inspirational story of the recipient, we were absolutely delighted to help and to supply and install a...

When the Royal Horticultural Society asked us to get involved in its ‘Greening Grey Britain’ initiative at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show, we answered immediately with a resounding ‘yes’! We believe passionately that flora and fauna have a crucial part to play in urban and suburban areas, with their role potentially becoming even more important as the climate changes and urbanisation continues to impinge on our green spaces. With more pollution and flooding in towns and citie...

When a new green wall is being designed, we are often asked: “How long will it take to grow and mature?” The answer depends on a range of factors, not least, which species of plant are being grown and the specific conditions of the particular site. The variables which need to be considered include: Orientation – how much light and/or shade the plants will receive? Irrigation – how will the plants be watered? Will it be manually, by an automatic irrigation system or by rainfa...

A combination of Jakob stainless steel ropes and rods has been used at Allianz Park, the new home of Saracens Rugby Club, to provide the structure for a green wall to adorn the stadium's timber-clad façade. The renovated stadium was officially opened in February 2013 and was designed to blend seamlessly into its environment. It is the only stadium in the UK to have achieved the coveted BREEAM 'Excellent' standard. The Jakob green wall was installed by Scotscape Ltd and consists of a com...

With Ecobuild 2013 just finished – and thoughts already turning to the 2014 show – we were delighted to meet so many old and new customers at London’s ExCeL arena. Providing a great platform to showcase our range of Jakob systems, we were also delighted once again to be invited to contribute to the Ecobuild Arena which was the centrepiece of the main hall. Using combinations of Jakob Webnet and stainless steel wire ropes, the Arena feature showcased the benefits of green walls, demonstr...

Green Walls (often called living walls) have been a feature of buildings for many centuries and while the traditional ‘ivy-covered’ façades of Victorian homes have now been replaced by modern, purpose-built systems, they deliver a wide range of benefits to buildings of all type, shape and size: Improved aesthetics Well designed and maintained Green Walls significantly enhance a building’s appearance - whether it’s to add a new aesthetic dimension, disguise a car park, refresh a tire...