Green Block by WATG Transforms London to a National Park City

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‘Green Block’ is WATG ‘s practical answer to the question asked by the Mayor of London about how to make the British capital a National Park City. WATG is a landscape company from London and it is managed by Demet Karaoglu. The company team collaborated with Daniel Raven-Ellison who is a geographer and an explorer heading the city’s campaign to develop the first National Park City in the world.

Courtesy of WATG

The core idea of WATG’s work revolves around the ‘Green Block’ which will convert cities of the world into much greener ones. ‘Green Block’ is a modifiable and totally recyclable active material used for building. The new eco-friendly material is saturated with the seeds of the local wildflowers. It needs no maintenance and has its own watering system.

Courtesy of WATG

The Vice President of Planning and Landscape of WATG, John Goldwyn, commented, “WATG’s inspiration was to think about London in the future when there are less cars on the road and fewer car lanes. This idea claws back space from the roads and returns it to the people of London. As Landscape Architects, we’ve been incredibly inspired by Mayor Khan’s commitment to the environment in the Capital.”

Courtesy of WATG

WTAG proposes several ways to utilize the ‘Green Block’ in an urban area. ‘Green Block’ will be utilized as a material for building across the city according to the preference of the inhabitants. The new material could be instantly put to work to transfer the pavements into more greener ones. The application will involve introducing small-sized parks (parklets) right outside cafes and shop windows. The green walkways would link the parks of the city together in an eco-friendly method. ‘Green Block’ can be also utilized as a green wall in buildings and projects that are still under construction.

Courtesy of WATG

Still under testing, Green Block is expected to be available for use at the beginning of 2018.

Daniel Raven-Ellison explained, “To make a greener future a reality for all Londoners, we need to work together and leverage our collective creativity and resources.”
The highly-anticipated project is fully backed by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who aspires to transform the highly-polluted capital into a National Park City. Declaring London as a National Park City is expected in 2018, while the launching of the project is expected in 2019.

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