Green Buildings & Solutions for Property Developers

WaterUps wicking technology helps developments boost green star rating

Sustainable Green Buildings, Property and Estate Development

With more calls for green buildings and sustainable developments, WaterUps offers architects and developers versatile solutions that can:

  • green and cool buildings and public spaces
  • use and store water wisely
  • drought-proof properties and
  • meet key sustainability goals and green star metrics

All while being much easier to install and maintain than traditional options.

An Australian innovation, WaterUps delivers a unique and powerful wicking solution to:

  • improve the appeal and liveability of modern developments
  • entice office workers back to CBD areas
  • create greener housing estates in our communities and
  • combat climate change in innovative ways.

In fact, WaterUps delivers the means for many property developers to monetise the benefits of including sustainable green spaces in their developments. The inclusion of green rooftops has been shown to increase the real estate value of a building from 6% to 15% according to this 2019 study.

Launched in 2016 and used in numerous homes and developments, WaterUps helps all garden varieties – edible, tropical, native, and succulent – flourish, thrive and survive.

Over here, you can learn more about our unique wicking technology. Below, you can discover why WaterUps is the solution to sustain green buildings and developments in our communities.

Why WaterUps for Green Buildings

Creative Scope

WaterUps delivers the world’s first scalable wicking solution enabling unlimited creative designs when it comes to garden shapes, sizes, and applications – on rooftops, in large tree tubs or raised planter boxes and in-ground gardens.

Massive Water Savings

A raised garden bed with WaterUps installed uses 20% of the water of regular surface watering systems, according to research undertaken in Sydney in 2018.

This is all due to the unique design of our wicking system, meaning gardens need to be watered far less frequently – up to 80% less.

More Savings, Less Maintenance — Cost-effective Green Buildings

The savings come in other ways as well: WaterUps can capture and store rainwater, reducing reliance on mains water. Plus, with WaterUps plants perform to their full potential; they last longer, with less requirement to replace dead or sad plants. Overall, there is far less maintenance involved with a WaterUps garden.

Easy Set-Up

WaterUps can come in individual cell units or in our sub-irrigation channels (SIC) – the preferred method for landscape architects as the wicking cells are encased in reservoir tank ready to go. This makes for neat and fast installation. You can connect multiple channel units together for long border garden beds. As watering is by capillary action it is drawn up naturally from the system’s water reservoir and you don’t need to connect any other irrigation.

100% Recycled Plastic

WaterUps is made from 100% recycled and durable polypropylene plastic which, when installed (under the ground), will not degrade. As at 2022 only 9% of plastics in the world are recycled. WaterUps is helping with that cause.

Landscapers on board

More and more landscape architects are opting for WaterUps, and we have a growing network of landscape installers.

Specific Areas Property Developers can use WaterUps to Green Buildings

WaterUps will help plants thrive in the following applications:

Green Buildings with Roof Top Gardens

Greening our cities from above, insulating buildings, improving energy savings and carbon emissions, improving health, capturing rainwater, providing liveable environment inducive to positive mental and social wellbeing.… the list goes on. Discover more on Rooftop Gardens here.

Laneways and Pop-up Precincts

WaterUps can be used to create instant greenery and a natural environment when used in planters of various sizes. We have partnered with PlantaBox® to provide a range of pop-up gardens for use in public spaces.

Street Planters

We provide a range of Colorbond® and stainless steel planters for plants, shrubs and trees. WaterUps is also integrated into outdoor furniture and planter boxes from Plantabox, Draffin®, Satu Bumi® and Street Furniture Australia®.

We also have several partners that create custom designs incorporating WaterUps wicking solutions. Increasingly, commercial property managers are incorporating WaterUps into raised garden beds in carparks and building surrounds

Natural Green Turf

Another way WaterUps can potentially save developers and home owners money and help enhance the sale of properties, is by using the WaterUps sub-irrigation channel under turfed areas. Trials in Perth WA over the summer months have achieved very good results, with more trials planned. WaterUps increases the land capture area and retains water in the reservoir, providing an optimal supply of water to the turf layer and contributing to attractive and cooling green lawns.

Regulated Water Usage Compliance

Increasingly state and local government have sustainability regulations requiring new residential developments to use less potable water. In NSW, this is 40% as part of the BASIX home benchmark (90,340 litres of water per person per year). 40% is close to the amount that the average home spends on outside water usage each year – the majority on watering a garden. Just under 6 square metres of WaterUps Wicking used in garden beds or connected to tank systems would meet this requirement for the average household.

Green Buildings with Street Trees & Green Spaces

WaterUps can give street trees planted in new developments the best start in life. In most civil developments up to 30% of trees die in the first year of planting. Working with two Sydney councils, we are trialling our SIC to provide supplemental deep watering. These comparison trials will be completed by the end of 2022.

Diagram of how WaterUps Wicking Solutions be be used to create green buildings and estate developments

Rain Gardens

The WaterUps SIC is an enclosed reservoir wicking system than can be used to extend the water capacity and function of rain gardens used in stormwater and eco-system management practices.

Community Gardens

As with community common areas, community gardens provide a way to foster community connections and support families with edible food while greening new or established developments. WaterUps in Raised Garden Beds are delivering amazing quantities of organic vegetables through the year.

Therapeutic Gardens

For disability services, hospitals, aged care facilities and the like, WaterUps ensures gardens are always performing at their best, are easy to maintain and deliver a peaceful green aesthetic.

Indoor Gardens for Relaxing Green Buildings

WaterUps is also perfect for the creation and maintenance of beautiful indoor gardens, particular in commercial buildings, e.g. in custom planters for foyer areas, vertical walls, large tree tubs and office greenery.

Sustainability Accreditation

The above initiatives will help property developers attain a better green star rating for their projects and help with their credibility and track record when it comes to green buildings and developments.

By saving water and making urban greenspaces easier to maintain, WaterUps can help architects and property developers attain greater sustainability in their projects.