Client Background

When Tinwood Estate winery in Chichester looked to expand its service to customers by building three luxurious vineyard lodges in the grounds, Viritopia was the first port of call for providing green roofs for each.  Passionate environmental custodians, the owners of Tinwood look to encourage biodiversity wherever possible, and incorporating living roofs into the woodland accommodation seemed an ideal contribution.

In 2016 Art and Jody, the owners of the 60 hectare Tinwood Estate since its inception in 2005, realised that giving their guests the option of staying overnight would offer an enhanced visit to their winery, and thus had three lodges built side-by-side within the grounds, each overlooking the vines.

Featured Solutions

  • Sedum GrufeKit

Size:     25m² - 150m²

Industry:     Hospitality

Project Drivers

Biodiversity

Aesthetics

The lodges are contemporary and high-end providing both luxury and comfort.  Built from western-clad cedar they are designed to blend seamlessly into the woodland surroundings providing a fun additional element to the vineyard experience, but also reinforcing the Estate's commitments to environmental causes.  As much as the lodges are intended to provide temporary shelter for guests at the Estate, they also offer longer-term sanctuary for wildlife with green roofs presenting ideal conditions for many species to thrive.

View the GrufeKit range.

Green roof creators plan a bio-diverse structure specifically to attract wildlife whilst also allowing for the addition of other features such as beehives, birdbaths, insect hotels and log and stone outcrops.  There is plenty of scope for all such additions in the grounds of the Estate, and with Tinwood being part of the Entry Level Stewardship Scheme (a recognised programme whereby farmers actively encourage biodiversity) the incorporation of green roofs fall in line with the owners' environmental vision and values.

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Viritopia were great, they are based locally and came out to discuss our needs. They helped us from the beginning to the end of the project and the green roof system was perfect. I couldn't fault Viritopia at all; they're a really good company to work with and I'd recommend them to everyone. It took one worker just one and a half days to lay 180 square meters of green roof spread over three roofs, it was very simple.

Founder of Tinwood Estate