Meristem Parklet Shortlisted for the Healthy Streets Awards 2017

We’re delighted to announce our Parklet has been shortlisted for the Healthy Streets Awards.  The Parklet forms part of the Shoreditch Low Emission Neighborhood scheme which is a Tri-Borough collaboration between Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Islington and the Mayor of London.  

A Parklet is a pavement extension that provides seating, greenery and amenities for the public using the street. Usually Parklets are installed on parking bays and use 2 or more parking spaces. They typically extend out from the pavement no wider than an average car parking bay of 2 mtrs, our Parklet is 10 mtrs X 2mtrs.  They are well established in countries like US, Canada and Australia and are now catching on in the UK.

Our approach is quite unique in that we have teamed up with a local charity called the Spitalfields Trust Crypt (SCT) established in 1965, they support people in East London who are recovering from drug and alcohol addiction.

The charity helped to install the unit, they also maintain it by carrying out weekly inspections, checking the health of the plants and trees, watering and trimming the plants where necessary. They also carry out any minor repairs where needed.

The tie in with SCT also allows them to provide us with valuable data so we can monitor how it is being used and the type of people who use it.  

The announcement is to be made on the 28th September so fingers and toes crossed!

Mayfair Living Wall

Our latest living wall installation created a peaceful courtyard area for our client. We used a mixture of ferns, fatsia japonica, convolvulus, berginia and rosemary to bring luscious greenery to an urban back garden.

Map Gift Shop Trellis - ZEN Initiative

We really enjoyed installing our jasmine trellis planter at Map Gift Shop in Archway. This project is part of the fantastic Archway Zero Emissions Neighbourhood scheme.  

 ZEN is a free to join network that helps businesses and residents in the City Fringe area reduce the impact they have on air quality. Free grants of up to £2,000 are available to businesses to improve the workplace. 

We are offering free green audits and 10% off on all of our products and services for ZEN members.

 

 

A Green Office is a Happy Office - eOffice Coworking Conference

Meristem Design were delighted to present on 'the connection between a green office and a happy office' at the eOffice Coworking Conference. 

We wanted to share our strong belief that being connected to nature can bring significant benefits to businesses and their employees. 

Research has shown that by introducing nature into an office space both staff absenteeism and sick building syndrome reduces while increasing creativity by as much as 6%.

Green Barriers for a Car Free Day

Meristem Design were happy to be part of Hackney Council's Car Free Day on Fashion Street in East London, to help celebrate clean air and sustainable transport. The road was transformed into a car free zone for the day, and commuters and local residents were encouraged to leave their cars at home and enjoy the freedom of travelling by bike, foot, bus or the London Overground. 

Meristem provided lush greenery, seating and planters as an alternative to traditional road barriers, which helped to promote the idea of clean living and urban greening.

Parklet Launch: Press Release

Meristem Design were delighted to announce the official launch their Shoreditch parklet on Clean Air Day 15th June commissioned by Hackney Borough Council. This project is part of the joint partnership venture between Hackney Council, Islington Council and Tower Hamlets Council and is part of a larger initiative to encourage green spaces, cleaner air, and to promote cycling, under the Low Emission Neighbourhoods (LEN) initiative programme.

Parklet

Parklets are a unique way of creating an instant mini oasis of natural calm in the midst of our busy urban realms. Situated on Calvert Avenue the 10m by 2m parklet has seating for 14 people and 8 bike parking spaces on a curb flush platform incorporating 12m of mixed shrub and herbaceous planters topped by Jasmine clad trellis together with 2 trees. The planting style brings natural beauty to the urban environment with a mixture of hardy long flowering, drought tolerant, pollution mitigating, aromatic plants together with edible herbs.

The parklet is an invigorating place-making asset for the local residential and business community as well as visitors to the area. It is cared for and maintained by the local Spitalfields Crypt Trust (SCT), a local charity providing support and practical training to assist people who have been homeless and suffering from addiction, poverty or social isolation. A SCT member said: “It’s almost like a portal to a garden as it allows you to sit amongst plants, I’m very impressed how seemingly it has integrated into our street and how often it is used”.

Parklet

Parklet Testimonial

Hear what some of the residents and local business owners think of Meristem Design's recently installed Parklet, in Hackney. The scheme is part of the ZEN and LEN schemes, sponsored by Tower Hamlets, Islington and Hackney councils as well as The Mayor of London.