GCL company - solutions designed with high quality

25 of June '24

The rocky feminine, Museum of Polish History

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From the series "Green Solutions - Trends 2024"

Since its inception, GCL Ltd. has focused on solutions designed with high quality. However, we knew that as a company that enables the introduction of greenery into urban areas, we must do so responsibly and with respect for the environment. That's why the solutions we offer revolve around materials produced based on the two basic elements of the circular economy idea-quality and materials sourced from recycled materials. Thanks to this approach, we are able to minimize the consumption of natural resources used in construction and reduce waste generation. We provide solutions for the introduction of low and high greenery in the most difficult urban conditions both on flat and sloping roofs of buildings and in paved surfaces on native soil. As a substrate manufacturer, we have also relied on a basic ingredient obtained from the demolition of old buildings. Demolition brick subjected to purification and crushed to the appropriate fraction allows to maintain very good physical and chemical parameters in specialized substrates used on roofs covered with vegetation.

FD 25 drainage element during laying

Introduced by us to Poland back in the 1990s, ZinCo 's roof greening solutions enjoy great support among architects due to the comprehensiveness of the solutions offered and the sense of security associated with supporting the design process. The system solutions used allow for trouble-free operation and many years of attractive appearance of the roofs on which we had the opportunity to work. The high quality of the offered products allows them to be used in situations where all other materials fail. It is thanks to the emphasis placed on quality that ZinCo brand materials stand the toughest test - the construction process and the passage of time. Moreover, in response to ever-changing trends dictated primarily by climate change, the solutions offered in the ZinCo system are constantly being upgraded, allowing projects to be tailored to current needs. These include systems for Bio-solar, retention and climate roofs. Increasingly, we are also greening pitched roofs with slopes as steep as ^45o. As this task has never been one of the easiest, our specialists help calculate the loads occurring on such a roof and select solutions to ensure trouble-free operation of a sloping roof covered with greenery.

FD 25 drainage element after 13 years

Among others, our technologies have been used on such buildings as the Library of the University of Warsaw, the Museum of Polish History, Varso Tower, the Podlasie Opera House, the "Cogiteon" Science Center in Krakow, the European Solidarity Center in Gdansk, the International Congress Center in Katowice and many others. We have also succeeded in bringing greenery to the roofs of award-winning private homes designed by prominent design studios. To put it simply, everywhere where both the effect and durability of the introduced solutions mattered.

The durable SD 30 drainage makes it possible to carry out work as soon as it is laid out.

As in the case of greening of roofs, we have also become in Poland a forerunner in the introduction of systems that allow for effective and long-lasting tree planting, performed in difficult urban conditions, the so-called "anti-compression systems". We chose the well-known worldwide brand GreenBlue Urban (formerly GreenLeaf) both for the comprehensive approach to the high-quality solutions offered and the common idea of using recycled materials. This gives plastic waste a new life in the service of urban greenery and beyond. The Green Blue Urban brand solutions we provide allow the maintenance and development of trees surrounded by paved surfaces, but not only. The products and systems, which are still being developed, also allow for the retention of rainwater within an anti-compression system so as to prevent local flooding without the need to upgrade sewer networks in ever-growing cities. It is interesting to note that the recently introduced "Ocean" series uses polypropylene derived from fishing nets fished from the seas and oceans, which are a huge threat to marine animals. The solutions we provide are used both in planning new plantings and in protecting the root systems of existing trees coming into collision with a new development.

Trees in GreenBlue Urban anti-compaction systems, Hala Koszyki fot.A.Lech

Thanks to our solutions, we can enjoy healthy trees, among others, at such investments as the Central Railway Station in Wroclaw, Koszyki Hall in Warsaw, Chmielna Street in Warsaw, Friends of Sopot Square in Sopot, Small Market in Opole, Lipowa Avenue in Białystok, and many others.

The water-permeable pavements we produce are also very popular among designers. Particularly often used is NetTurf paving, which provides a 100% biologically active area factor (50% on ceilings). It can be used as a fire road, technical access or occasional parking. After incorporation, the surface of a road made with NetTurf technology does not differ in appearance from an ordinary lawn. It does, however, provide the possibility for the Fire Department's fire truck to enter. It also has better retention properties than native soil and a higher water-permeability coefficient, which helps prevent water ponding and surface runoff on occasional parking surfaces. The pavement was tested by the School of Fire Fighting in Warsaw, which confirmed its properties and application.

Chmielna Street, Varso Place

Since the technologies we provide for the integration of greenery into architecture consist of a number of specialized solutions that allow adaptation to the requirements of a given project and are characterized by varying degrees of difficulty in the installation process, in each case we offer our clients the technical supervision of specialists, thus ensuring the high quality of the work carried out and a sense of security for all parties involved in the construction process. Designers and contractors can preview and use the standard solutions posted on our site. Not to be outdone, in each case we encourage them to consult a given project with one of our specialists and to receive training that includes knowledge of a given area of our company.

GBU

Green City Life has also placed great emphasis on education over the 18 years of its existence by working closely with universities and industry associations by conducting training courses certified by the Polish Association "Green Roofs" and the Federation of Polish Arborists. For many years we have also supported the Association of Contractors of Flat Roofs and Facades- DAFA, the Association of Landscape Architecture (SAK) and the Polish Green Building Association- PLGBC. Cooperation on many levels allows us to continuously develop and exchange experience.

Fire road in NetTurf technology.

Cooperation with us is also a space to exchange experiences and discover new possibilities. Together, we go beyond standard solutions and established schemes to distinguish each of our projects from others.