Last week Silva Cells were installed for one of two trees in front of the new Apple Store in Spokane, WA. This site previously housed a building, of which only the foundation — filled with pea rock — remained. Clearwater Summit Group, the contractor for this streetscape installation, did a great job, first excavating the… More
While we don’t usually address super technical issues on this blog, we get asked plenty of questions about the engineering and testing that has been done on the Silva Cell, and rightly so. This product can meet AASHTO H-20 loading standards and is used in applications where strength and compliance with safety and testing standard… More
The City of Shoreline, WA is undertaking some massive public works projects, including a renovation of the Aurora Corridor. This project covers redesign and redevelopment of three miles of Aurora Avenue North that are a part of Shoreline. Otak, the design firm for the project, created a sidewalk tree median that is a rain garden…. More
One of the big challenges that we face with acceptance of the Silva Cell is cost-related. People love the concept and want to deliver big trees to their clients and site developments but don’t have the wiggle room on the budget for trees that they might for other site amenities. While the Silva Cell is… More
Here’s our latest Silva Cell video (you can see our entire YouTube channel here) demonstrating how well the maple trees planted in Silva Cells in 2008 are doing. These trees, installed at the Athlete’s Village in Vancouver, are from one of our biggest installations to date. Each tree received, on average, 700 cubic feet of… More
One of the lesser-known applications for the Silva Cell is what we call “on-structure” — in other words, built on a pre-existing structure, such as a roof or balcony. In the case of the Lincoln Center Barclay Capital Grove, the Silva Cells are being used to grow a thriving bosque of trees on top of… More
(Silva Cells along Bloor Street) Matthew Harris has written a great article over at blogTO, “Will Silva Cells Help Improve Toronto’s Urban Forest?“ His piece gives a good overview of the many projects we have happening in Toronto at the moment — Bloor Street, the Queensway, Sugar Beach, Mill Street, West Don Lands, and more,… More
Anyone out there headed to the ISA show this week? Our guys Peter MacDonagh and Al Key will be there (in booth #407), sweating it out with the other poor sods in the Windy City. If you’re interested in learning more about harvesting stormwater on-site, growing big street trees, and creating healthier communities using green… More
This set of photos is from a Silva Cell installation along Lincoln Road Mall in Miami, FL. This mixed-use promenade utilized Silva Cells in two areas: to provide additional soil volume underneath concrete mangrove water garden planters, and in a parking area along this iconic pedestrian walkway. James Urban, FASLA and Raymond Jungles, Inc. did… More
The Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) pilot program has officially launched! The SITES program is similar in structure to the better-known LEED system. The pilot version of the SITES rating has 15 prerequisites and 51 credits, and applicants are eligible to earn up to 250 points and be assigned one of four certification levels. SITES has… More
Last week I wrote about our Root Barrier product; this week I’ll look at the basics of Geomembranes. There’s a bit of confusion around the terminology for this product, perhaps justifiably so. Let me back up a moment. “Geomembranes” is a generic term that we use to describe two very similar products — BambooBarrier and Water… More
Pat Greeley, our Installation Coordinator, was at a job site in Apeldoorn (in The Netherlands) last week. Here are some photos from the installation.
Soil. Stormwater. Sustainable Infrastructure.
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