A recent project that The Human Nature Partnership has been involved in has been thinking about how to ‘green up’ a motorway flyover.
Not just any motorway flyover – but one of the largest and most notorious…the M4 as it cuts through the community of Neath Port Talbot in south Wales.
Working in partnership
The ‘Living Pillars’ feasibility study was led by award winning consultants The Environment Partnership, on behalf of clients Neath Port Talbot Council. The Human Nature Partnership involved our associates – the leading landscape architect and designer Will Sandy, and internationally renown green infrastructure expert Gary Grant.
The project considered innovative ways to improve the visual and environmental impact of highways infrastructures, with an emphasis on three key locations. Whilst focused on the highway and related structures, we were keen to emphasise the need for integration with regeneration and place making across the whole county borough – and even more broadly across south Wales.
There are enormous opportunities to benefit local communities – not least those who live under the shadow of a motorway that carries over 130,000 vehicles per day across Wales.
A modular greening toolkit
The greening toolkit we developed, incorporated adaptable, reconfigurable modules that allow for endless arrangements, uses and locations. The modules can be configured as part of wider landscape improvement and activations of the flyovers and underpasses, and can stand alone as independent public realm interventions. Importantly they are moveable to provide greening and activation in sites where maintenance access is required.
The designs allow for interim activations, providing the client or user with a tool to further engage and animate each site during construction and into completion.
The borough have recently tendered for a contractor to deliver a project at one of the feasibility sites. We look forward to watching how the work progresses in future.
Enabling organisations to connect with nature
The Human Nature Partnership is focused on enabling organisations to become more nature connected – and have worked with clients as diverse as the NHS, Savills, Natural Resources Wales and the Chartered Institute of Ecology & Environmental Management.
We are the only consultancy to feature in the world leading publication ‘Nature Connected Organisations’ by the University of Derby.
Do contact us if you and your organisation would like to have nature-rich workplaces, making a positive contribution to people and planet.