Stratacells Restore Historical Venues in Denmark
By Kristyn Maslog-Levis
Two historical venues in Denmark has been revamped with the help of the Citygreen® modular Stratacell™ system, supplied and project managed by Milford Scandinavia.
The old Christiansfeld is slowly returning to its beautiful original state with the addition of new lime trees (Tilia Cordata) that were planted using advanced environmentally friendly Stratacells to ensure it has the best possible growing condition.
On Museumsgade in Christiansfeld, 14 new lime trees “stand tall” and another 52 will be planted in Nørregade later this year. The lime trees are a part of a comprehensive plan for Christiansfeld with the aim of restoring the old city centre, leading it into the modern era. They are also renovating the buildings and adding new road surfaces as part of the plan.
“We have looked at old drawings to recapture the city centre’s original state. From this, we have chosen the best possible solutions to lead Christiansfeld back. But at the same time ensuring the best possible availability to all,” explains Thomas Thinghuus, a landscape architect in the Kolding municipality.
After deciding to start from scratch, the old lime trees have been removed to make way for the new ones.
“We have moved the tree line, so that there is more space on the sidewalks. At the same time, we are giving the new trees better growing conditions, so that they can continue to grow and not come to a halt after 10 or 15 years,” adds Thomas.
By using the Stratacell system, the trees for the project have been given “optimal growing conditions”.
“It is our assessment that this system ensures a proper volume of earth and air for the tree under this wearing surface, which must be able to last through traffic,” says Thomas.
The Stratacells structural soil cells are manufactured from 100 per cent recycled polymer. They can be assembled to form a skeletal matrix that supports pavement and traffic loads. This features almost five times more available growing media compared to the traditional rock/soil method, therefore facilitating healthy root growth. Because of its high structural integrity, these matrices can be used beneath trafficked areas.
The modules can be used everywhere where trees are planted in areas with some form of paving. The opening in Stratacells is large enough to allow drainage pipes, cables, and oxygenation systems to go through.
Landscape gardener Kjeld Larsen & Søn A/S, who was in charge of the planting, finds the system absolutely easy to use even if this is the first time they’ve used it.
“It is just like building with Lego bricks. They are easy to click together and weigh nothing. They also ensure that the tree can create a large root system,” says Kjeld Larsen & Son landscape technician, Tove Andersen.
Each tree was planted with 64 Stratacells around it, placed in two layers. The cells were filled with soil and the tree root systems can then find its way down through the individual cells.
“When all the cells are placed around a tree, you have a root zone which can carry the pavement and the load of traffic which is on top without the roots being affected,” adds Tove.
The project also expects to plant lime trees on Lindegade in Christiansfeld in 2014, again using the Citygreen Stratacell system.
“Trees are a substantial and almost indispensable part of our urban areas. But often they have difficult growing conditions and issues with lack of quality soil for their roots. Stratecells provide an optimal growth zone for the roots, and it is also the environmentally friendly choice, as the modules are made of waste which would otherwise have ended up on the waste disposal site,” explains project coordinator, Mark Walton from Milford Landskab.
Svend Andersen from Plantefokus was the advisor on plant quality and growing conditions for trees. He says he approved the Citygreen system’s ability to provide room for root growth.
“As far as I know the system is easy to work with. The system is quite invisible when installed. I prefer to plant trees in real soil in open beds, but when this is not possible the Citygreen system is a possibility,” Svend says.
Citygreen’s Stratacell system was also part of a very prestigious project involving one of Denmark’s oldest cathedrals located in one of its oldest towns.
The Ribe Cathedral Square project’s aim was to reconfigure the cathedral square to create an active city space without compromising its historical value.
The workers faced problems when excavating the cathedral square because of all the historic artifacts and bones that were buried in the ground. Wyatt Harding from Milford Landskab says they visited the site when the project first started to ensure the quality of the installation, and observed that the landscaping contractors found the process very simple.
“The landscape architect chose the Stratacells because they could optimise the soil volume as in some areas the tree pits were restricted due to old buildings/foundations underneath the town square. So far, the landscape architect is pleased with the result,” Wyatt says.
Mona Jakobsen Dybdal from Esbjerg municipality says the project involved the total conversion of the square “where the trees initially was intended to have been preserved but their state of health did not permit it”.
Schonherr won the competition for the refashioning of the Ribe Cathedral Square. The cathedral is the monumental midpoint of the historical town centre in Ribe, which is one of Denmark’s “best preserved cultural-historical environments”. According to Schonherr’s website, by placing trees on elevated plinths that simultaneously function as seating possibilities, the daily traffic is lead across the square without compromising the area.
Dybdal, who was involved in the quality control and design of the plant beds with a view on the tree’s long-term health, says it’s still early stages, but based on her experience with the project, she will consider using the Citygreen Stratacell system in the future. Scandinavian supplier Milford worked closely with designers and installers throughout these successful installations.