Introduction

London’s public spaces bring people together around everything from neighbourhood gardens to major cultural landmarks. Trees help make these places welcoming, providing shade and giving people reasons to linger.

At DeepRoot, we’re proud to have helped bring greater sustainability to the London area for nearly two decades. Since our first London installation in 2008, Silva Cells have been used on more than 150 projects across the area, helping project teams create the growing conditions that trees need to thrive.

That experience spans historic gardens and major regeneration schemes, with Silva Cells supporting tree growth and, where incorporated into the drainage design, sustainable drainage systems (SuDS). Each installation contributes to a greener London that people can enjoy for years to come.

Supporting a Greener London

In a city as densely built as London, green space helps keep the urban environment liveable. Tree canopy offers relief from summer heat, planting provides habitat, and landscapes designed to receive runoff can help manage rainfall. Bringing these benefits into everyday streets and squares makes them accessible where people live, work, and travel. The challenge is finding room within spaces already occupied by paving, buildings, and essential infrastructure.

Silva Cells were designed for this challenge. Their structurally independent units allow layouts to adapt around utilities and other underground constraints, creating connected growing space beneath paved surfaces. Combined with DeepRoot’s experience supporting London project teams, that flexibility helps designers bring lasting green infrastructure into places where conventional planting space is limited. It gives ambitious plans for a greener capital a practical foundation.

Soil: The Foundation for Lasting Green Space

The long-term success of an urban tree depends on its access to adequate soil. In paved settings, providing that soil requires space beneath surfaces that must also accommodate pedestrians, vehicles, and existing infrastructure. Silva Cells support the paving above while making room for lightly compacted planting soil below. Roots can expand into that soil as the trees grow, helping them develop the canopies that bring shade and character to public spaces.

At Ruskin Square in Croydon, for example, this approach gives each plaza tree access to 25 m³ of soil beneath the paving. Installed in 2016, the trees are thriving in a hard urban setting, demonstrating the value of planning for their needs from the outset.

Connecting Tree Growth and SuDS

The same soil that supports healthy roots can also play a role in managing runoff. When integrated into a sustainable drainage system (SuDS), Silva Cells allow project teams to direct water into the planting soil, where it can be filtered and slowed before leaving the system.

At Seagrave Road at Lillie Square, permeable paving directs runoff from the road and footpaths into the soil within the Silva Cells before it enters the municipal sewer. The installation combines tree growth and water management beneath surfaces that continue to accommodate local traffic and parking. For London projects balancing limited space with several infrastructure needs, this offers a way to connect landscape and drainage objectives within the same footprint.

A Trusted Partner from Design to Installation

Delivering these landscapes requires careful coordination between designers and construction teams. Underground utilities, structural constraints, and phased construction all influence how a planting scheme can be built.

Our London experience includes helping teams address those conditions. At Seething Lane Garden (Trinity Square), DeepRoot’s technical team assisted the designers with an installation above an underground car park, and Technical Director Pat Greeley attended the installation. At Wembley, Silva Cells accommodated utilities and a construction programme delivered across several phases.

We’re proud of the part we’ve played alongside the designers and contractors shaping London’s public spaces. That experience gives future project teams practical examples to draw on as they plan their own green infrastructure.

Explore Silva Cell Projects Across London

These London projects illustrate how Silva Cells can respond to different ambitions and site conditions across the capital.

Ruskin Square

Designed by J&L Gibbons and installed by Gavin Jones Limited, this Croydon plaza provides 14 trees with 25 m³ of soil each. The trees help create a welcoming gathering space near East Croydon station, showing how soil beneath paving can support green space in a busy district undergoing regeneration. Read the case study here.

Seething Lane Garden

Capita Symonds and Frosts Landscape Construction helped create a renewed public garden above an underground car park. Silva Cells connect growing areas beneath paved paths, while roof runoff from neighbouring 10 Trinity Square irrigates the trees. The project demonstrates how structural constraints and water reuse can be addressed within a carefully coordinated landscape design. Read the case study here.

Bomber Command Memorial

Two London planes frame the memorial entrance, each supplied with 15 m³ of soil through Silva Cells installed in 2012. Designed by Liam O’Connor, with contractor Gilbert Ash, the project accommodated existing underground services. It illustrates how even a small planting scheme can provide space for lasting trees in a constrained central London setting. Read the case study here.

Wembley Olympic Way

Forty-eight trees line the pedestrian route to Wembley Stadium. The wider design team included Gross Max, Populous, and Foster + Partners, with VolkerFitzpatrick as contractor. Installed in phases between 2017 and 2021, the Silva Cells accommodated underground utilities and a staggered construction programme, demonstrating flexibility for major public-realm schemes delivered over several years. Read the case study here.

Lillie Square

Andy Sturgeon Landscape and Garden Design along with contractor FM Conway incorporated Silva Cells for 20 street trees along Seagrave Road and the development’s entrance drive. The installation supports parking and local traffic while helping treat runoff through the planting soil. It offers a practical example for residential streets where trees, drainage, and access must share limited space. Read the case study here.

Battersea Power Station

Seventy-seven trees form part of the landscaped “halo” around the redeveloped power station. With landscape design led by LDA Design and contractors including Keltbray and Maylim, Silva Cells provide growing space beneath the surrounding footpaths. The project shows how trees can soften the setting of a large landmark and help make its public spaces more inviting. Read the case study here.

Planning a London project? Contact our UK team to discuss how Silva Cells can support your tree planting and SuDS objectives.